Summer of Flame
by Ahn-Li Steffraini
Summary: Book Two of the True Sight Saga. Raistlin continues his journeys while trying to live his life as Palin, but when the Summer of Chaos begins, will his duty as Miiro supercede? OH MY GOD! It's done! Finit! RR, the muse craves it and you may get more, lol
1. Prolog

* * *

True Sight Saga  
by the Miiro and Lord Terrence

* * *

Book Two:  
Summer of Flame

* * *

_What happened last time_: Raistlin had watched Palin die, cut down by the Dark Queen when she had interfered with Palin's Test of High Sorcery. When he woke up he was confronted with not only being normal, but everyone had mistaken him for his nephew. Raistlin, against his own better judgement but unable to find the words, found he just didn't have the heart to tell anyone the truth and began to live a 'merciful deception' and gave his own identity up to live on as Palin. After Tanin, his elder nephew, figured him out, Raistlin began to realize it was a bit more difficult to keep up the facade than he had originally put stock. We left off with Raistlin recovering from a grievious injury...

_Summary_: Raistlin continues to live life as his nephew Palin Majere, but when the Summer of Chaos begins, will he find that his duty as a Guardian takes precedence, or will he find a way to continue the Merciful Deception?

_Rating_: PG-13 for violence/swearing, the occasional sick and twisted joke, and one romantic scene.

_Authors' Notes_:

_Miiro_: Just when Raistlin thought it was safe to almost forget who he is...

_Lord Terrence_: Are we at it again? Yup, thought so...

* * *

_A Brief Excerpt of where we left off last time (or, if you prefer, the PROLOG):_

Raistlin awoke in the night to regard the ghostly form of a woman in his room. Except it wasn't Marion. In fact, it wasn't any woman he remembered. This one wore ancient Red Robes and looked at him sadly as she kissed his forehead. "Heal fast, Guardian. I sense things are moving quickly now."

"Who are you?" he asked.

She smiled, and her, _Tarsian?_, accented voice whispered, "Someday, maybe I will tell you, but know I have watched your progress for a very, very long time. I mourned when you fell, and I rejoiced when I saw you again, redeemed. You, my old friend, my greatest failure, yet my greatest victory... ah... but I've already told you too much. Rest well, Raistlin, Guardian Avatar of the Miiro."

With that a lone ray of the red moon penetrated his room and she disappeared. "Lunitari?" he wondered.

Maybe, but she had never appeared to him like that. He put his head in his hands and groaned, "Now what have I gotten myself into?"

* * *

Meanwhile, in Neraka, a set of armored figures walked into the Temple of the Dark Queen. The lead one, kneeled before her alter. "My Dark Queen, my All-Seeing General, I ask a boon..."

In his mind, he felt her pleased touch, _What is it you ask, Ariakan?_

"I ask to form a Knighthood, dedicated to your vindication, organized to do your absolute will, and for the progress you will bring," he then explained his plan to form what would come to be known as the Knights of Takhisis...

* * *


	2. Knights

* * *

_PART ONE: WANNA BET?_

* * *

Chapter One:  
Knights

* * *

Raistlin hung back as he watched his two nephews be guided into the keep of Castle Uth Wistan. Leaning on his staff he wasn't in the least surprised when he wasn't exactly invited in. Raistlin settled himself into a long wait then froze when a cat looked him up and down. Okay. So he wasn't afraid of cats, but this was a big white tiger that was looking at him like he was dinner.

"Go on, shoo," he whispered at it. "Go away. I wouldn't make for a nice meal. I'm naught but sinew and bone."

"Ah, I see you found my guide," came a familiar voice behind him.

For the second time in one day, Raistlin was struck speechless as he turned to the blind cleric. _Please, don't be her, please, please, Gods, if you are listening, don't let it be_... heturned the rest of the way around and saw who it was. _Oh shit_, he swore, but said respectfully and what he hoped was shyly, "Revered Daughter Crysania."

"Are you not coming in with us... Sir..." Crysania trailed off as she tried to figure him out by sound and voice.

"I'm no Knight, Revered Daughter," he answered. "My name is Palin Majere, I'm a wizard of the White Robes."

"Ah, that explains the familiar voice. I knew another Majere that sounded just like you, except not so friendly," she smiled then held out her hand. "I would consider it an honor if you would be my guest if the Knights would not invite you. After all, it is your brothers who are being knighted this day, is it not."

"Yes," he answered as he took her arm, while switching the Staff to his other hand.

It tapped on the ground as they walked, and he noticed her frowning, "Does something bother you?"

"It's nothing," she laughed it off. "You have a staff, and I guess the smell of your spell components remind of your Uncle. It doesn't help that you sound so much the same," she felt his arm. "Even built the same."

Raistlin laughed, "Goes with the territory of being a wizard, my Lady."

_Good cover_, he thought. _Now, if I can do something decidingly un-Raistlin, maybe she'll stop wondering at how 'like my Uncle' I am_... Crysania shook her head, "I don't think you have to call me that."

"Call you what?"

"Revered Daughter," she answered then turned to him, grasping a hand and leaning close and she whispered the next part. "You never did."

Raistlin's heart nearly stopped as he froze to the spot, his eyes wide. _Oh nonononono....!_ Raistlin looked at her eyes and knew that she could not see him. He took a breath and released with a sigh. Tanin had figured him out the same way while listening to him talk in a barn, why should he be surprised that Crysania did it by being with him for five minutes. "How?" he still asked.

"Your voice, the way you walk, your general way you stand," she said, touching her nose. "And even though your spell components cover it very well, there was always something of you that I could always, just barely, pick up," she touched his face then as she said this. "I wonder, if no one else knows, does that mean that your curse was broken?"

Raistlin looked down and turned away to lean on the window sill, looking out to the sea he could just spot in the distance from the direction he stood. Turning to her and leaning on the sill, he said softly, "Crys..."

She sat beside him on the sill, looked at him even though she could not see him, "Something has changed. I can feel the grief from you in waves. The sadness. Tell me?"

A guard closed the door they stood in, and the tiger kept guard. Raistlin looked at his Staff for a long time, at first relieved that he could let his guard slip and be himself, be allowed to grieve for a nephew he never had the honor of knowing, and the shame of failing. "The Dark Queen interfered my youngest nephew's Test at the Tower of High Sorcery. She somehow made it possible for him to enter the Abyss, and when he did, she was waiting for him. She kidnapped him, held him hostage. All she wanted was me. She did it to get to me. Oh, and it worked. I woke from my slumber and went to his rescue."

"And then?" prompted Crysania gently.

"I was too late," answered Raistlin. "She killed him before I could– and made me watch her do it."

"Oh, Raist, I'm so sorry," she said, as she laid a hand on his leg. "But why do you do this?"

"I woke up in my lab, found myself in the White Robes. I can't remember how I got there," he answered. "I then passed out again. A few days later I found myself in Palin's bed. My brother had thought I was Palin, and... I couldn't tell him. I couldn't even bring myself to do it. Something... something made the idea of seeing them grieve too hard to tell them the truth. I've been passing myself off as Palin for a year now."

"And your robes haven't changed color?" her tone was carefully flat.

"No," he said, trailing this out as if he didn't quite follow what she her point was.

"I knew it!" she put her hands up in the air. "I knew it."

Raistlin quirked an eyebrow, then suddenly figured out what she meant. The last time they had... met... she had maintained that he was redeemable, able to feel mercy and do good even if it did not benefit himself. Just because the act was kind. She had termed it his 'random acts of kindness' and followed him into the Abyss believing it.

It was a strange and very, very odd feeling to note that this entire charade, lie though it may be, was done simply because he couldn't bear to see his brother pre-maturely grieve for a son. In so doing, he had also proved Crysania's point. "Don't get me wrong, Revered Daughter," said Raistlin. "I'm still who I am, I can still do what you saw me do. And if it wouldn't leave with no one to worship me, I would do it all over again..."

"Would you really?" she asked. "Raistlin, answer this simple question: Why did you try and save Palin in the first place?"

"Because the Dark Queen was after me, not him," he answered. "He... he should have never been there. If not for me he wouldn't have been her target, her bait. I couldn't let him die over my mistakes in life. And he had so much potential."

"So... what gain could you possibly have gotten out of that?" she asked.

"Satisfaction of foiling Her Royal Darkness?" quipped Raistlin a bit lamely.

Okay, not up to his usual sarcastic self, but given the fact that she was hitting some very sensitive issues with him, he could, and would, chalk that up to emotional distraction. He heard her sigh, "Really?"

"No, not really," mumbled Raistlin. "I couldn't gain anything by trying to rescue Palin. I did it because I felt he didn't deserve Her attention. Didn't deserve to be tortured for my 'benefit'."

"So, you did it for him?" she said. "I wonder, are you still? You tried to save him, but found you could not, so are you now living as him, for him? So that whatever potential you felt he had he reaches, even if you have to sacrifice not only your life but your identity and what makes you yourself just so he lives on?"

Raistlin closed his eyes and looked down at the ground, both his hands caressing the soft wood of his staff. Looking at how Crysania reflected in the stone, he turned to face her, his voice heavy, "Yes, you are correct. That's why I do it. He was cut down and never even given the chance to begin his Test, let alone his career. And why? Because of me. It was _my fault_ the Dark Queen lured him in. It was _my fault _she used him as bait. It was _my fault_ that she decided that a good way to hurt me was to kill him while I watched." He turned to face the window and looked out to the darkening sky. "You want to know something else? I failed him that day too. I couldn't do a thing to save him, I wasn't fast enough to stop her blade from sinking into his belly. It's _my fault_ that he's dead. I owe him this, but the more I fail at being him, the more I fail him as it falls to pieces around me."

Crysania's tears were falling freely as Raistlin, who never said two words when one would suffice, found that he couldn't stop the self-recrimination once he had started. Maybe it was overdue, but something inside him had snapped and felt that too much had been left unsaid. "I shouldn't be surprised. Look at the way I failed you."

"Oh no, you never..." she started as she moved to grasp his hand.

He laughed bitterly, and this much was familiar to her. She could see what she had always remembered, but perhaps, without her physical sight, she saw another way she could help him. Pain she had missed previously was now glaringly obvious. Reasons he did things, and perhaps what he would do half a thought before he even did was also easy to see.

He hated himself, hated the Gods, perhaps even hated everyone else on Krynn. Everything he did he had done to prove to the Gods and everyone else, and perhaps even himself, that he was actually worth something. To be noticed.

"Lady Crysania," he began. "I used you the way I hated to be used. You know, I might have even loved you. But did I allow myself to feel that? No! And all because I felt that if I proved myself superior to everyone else, then maybe, just maybe I could be."

"Raistlin," she put a hand on his shoulder. "Look at me."

He did so, slowly. Forced himself to look into her sightless eyes, and said, his voice shaky, "Look what I've done to you, and yet you still try to be kind to me."

She held him, and felt him stiffen. Well, that much was familiar. Raistlin had never liked being touched. "Let go," she whispered. "Let it all go. Grieve."

His arms surrounded her as if she was the one floating branch in a sea, and he was the drowning man, and let himself grieve. She held him as he cried himself out, then continued as he degenerated into dry sobs. "Why couldn't I save him? I should have been able to..." he cried in one loud wail as he finally pushed himself away and began to pace the room as he wiped away the remnants of his tears.

Crysania shook her head, "I don't have an answer to that. But you can't blame yourself like that. People are going to pick up on it. You continue to punish yourself for something you did not do. You have to learn to let more pass."

"Are you telling me I'm uptight?" he asked suddenly.

"Uptight?" she smiled. "I would call it more 'intense'. You have a nasty habit of letting too much get too personal when it could mean nothing to you at all. You're such a sensitive person that you get stressed emotionally so you simply turn it all off and push it down so deep that half the time you don't even realize it exists until it gets to be too much and you simply overload. And Raistlin, that isn't exactly healthy. You have to learn to let more out."

He thought for a moment, "Crysania, I do think you've gotten a lot more wise in your years."

"Raistlin?"

She caught him as he was about to open the door, "Yes?"

"Palin listened to that advice and so was a less intense, less stressed emotionally, person," she pointed out. "That's the other way I figured him out. If you decide to live your life for Palin, you're going to have to so the same thing or more people are going to figure you out."

"Thank you, Revered Daughter..." he said. "Crysania... I..."

"I know," she whispered. "Be well, and if you ever need to de-stress, you know where to find me."

He nodded, even though he knew she couldn't see him, "I will."

"Paladine be with you," with that, she opened the door and left him in the room alone, silhouetted in the window, a shadow in the twilight sun as it outlined him.

* * *

Tanin went searching for Raistlin shortly after the ceremony. Somehow he hadn't been surprised when he had not seen his Uncle in the crowds that were there to see their children be Knighted. Sturm, thankfully, had been too caught up with the pageantry to really notice the absence of the not-so-White-Robed Wizard. Given that they were now mingling with the other nobility and parents of new Knights, Tanin was a bit concerned.

He found his Uncle leaning against a marble pillar support for the balcony above that gave him shade. His cowl was down, loosely worn on his shoulders, and Tanin stopped dead when he realized who he was talking to.

_Of all the people_... Tanin's mind went numb with the implications of Raistlin talking to Crysania. Did she know, could she know? Tanin decided to take it lightly and came up to them, "Greetings Revered Daughter, my father has told us much about you."

Crysania turned to him, "Ah, Tanin Majere, is it?"

"Yes, my lady," answered Tanin, smiling.

"Tanin has been a huge help to me since my Test," said Raistlin, but Tanin could see the ever subtle curling of his lips in vague amusement.

Okay, so what was so funny? Crysania, without even seeing, seemed to pick up on it, "Oh has he? My, what a long time to be helping you..."

If Tanin had not known beforehand that Raistlin was masquerading as Palin, he would have missed the subtle intonation on that. She knew perfectly well that is was Raistlin, and was not going to raise any alarm. Tanin relaxed a little. "Sometimes it seems like forever..." Tanin said, but before either of them could say anything, a cleric came up to them.

"Revered Daughter, Battlemaster Uth Wistan would like to speak to you."

"I'll be there presently," she said, then turned to Raistlin. "I would like to continue this later. Remember what I said. Learn to let go more often or you'll never be truly happy."

"I will, Revered Daughter," murmured Raistlin, almost too low for Tanin to hear.

When she was out of earshot, Tanin asked, "She knows..."

"Yes..." Raistlin shrugged. "She figured me out before the ceremony even began. Something about my smell."

"When was the last time you took a bath?" Tanin smiled as he said this, but left his astonished Uncle standing there to search for Sturm before he could respond.

* * *

The next day was when Gunthar Uth Wistan, the Grand Master of Solamnia, announced assignments to the Knights. The Knights of the Sword, those who had just passed their time as a squire knight, usually ended up with the farther flung assignments. Since both Tanin and Sturm were Knights of the Sword, Raistlin expected that if he wanted to be near them he would be expected to travel far and lightly.

Even more surprising was that he had shown up in armor.

He was aware of the stares of the assembled Knights at him. He did make for an interesting sight.

Well, he guessed, in their eyes, it wasn't really armor. Raistlin's armor was simple, if extremely well-crafted, half suit leather armor that was worn over his robes. Unlike the robes he wore at the moment, the armor was an interesting shade of blue so dark that it appeared black unless he turned just so in the sun, at which point it was clearly a navy blue. Combined with his travelling robes, which, although still white, were of a weave of linen that was nearly a type of armor itself and much, much shorter than his typical robes. His dark brown breeches, since he had to wear them due to the length of his tunic robe, made him look like a very ready to travel war wizard. What rounded it all off was his deep brown and green edged travel cloak and the obvious belt and spell component bags that hung from it.

He had to admit that while he looked impressive as a archmagus before, he looked somewhat intimidating now. Where before only wizards could recognize the subtle signs that spelled power in his dress and the way he carried himself, now everyone could.

Not to mention that anyone with half a brain could sense the enchantment of said leather armor from where they stood. Raistlin, when he had originally found it, and identified it, had decided to hold on to it just in case of emergency...

...Traveling with two road-naive nephews _had_ to count as an emergency.

A Knight of the Rose leaned over, "I didn't realize wizards wore armor."

"Wizards don't," answered Raistlin in a whisper. "But _war wizards_ do."

He could see Sturm's eyebrows practically hitting the roof. Well, he would have to explain this, he realized. Tanin was smiling, and he shook his head before returning his attention to the front.

Raistlin listened for awhile, then found his attention wandering even if he was still listening to the conversations. Finally, it came around to them. "Knights Majere," said Gunthar. "I have decided, given your... ah... unusual advantage to assign you to Vingaard."

Raistlin raised an eyebrow in thought. Strange, but the thought of being a few days travel from Palanthas was not as important as it used to be. But, even stranger, he felt a bit nervous about being too far from Solace. The Gunthar sighed at the end of his assignments, "As you well know, I am advancing in years. This was my last induction ceremony for the Solamnic Order. I look forward to seeing more, but I will not preciding over them. That passes to a younger generation, a new generation. The Kingfisher watch over you all, and may Paladine bless your journeys!"

The assembly broke up, and he could see the Knights who had been facing the front arced eyebrows at Raistlin's appearance. Tanin came up to him and said, "Well, this is a new look for you."

"If I'm traveling with you two, I'm going to be prepared!"

* * *

_A/N_: In the last book, we posted Raistlin's 3.5e Stats. Many people asked: Raistlin in armor?!

Our answer in two words: War Wizard.

The next question was Raistlin a Rogue?

Well, that required more than two words, and, well, we were going to explain that here, but we decided to actually have the explanation of how, in canon, that would be. And trust us, it is possible. What's worse: Margaret Weis made it possible! How? Well, you're just going to have to read that...


	3. 1 Dwarf Spirit, 2 DS, 3, FLOOR!

Chapter Two  
One Dwarf Spirit, Two Dwarf Spirit, Three... FLOOR!!

* * *

Tanin looked over at his Uncle in concern as he delicately leaned over the rail of the ship and began to purge his lunch. He would have never guessed that his Uncle Raistlin could not handle a simple voyage by sea unless he had seen it with his own eyes. But there it was, and he had been just as sick on the way to Sancrist Isle as he was going to Palanthas. As Raistlin stood up again, wiping his lips with a handkerchief, Tanin walked over, "The sailors tell me that if you stick closer to the middle of the ship the rocking isn't so bad."

"Thank you, Tanin," whispered Raistlin as he staggered uncertainly to the middle of the ship.

Tanin helped to sit and was surprised when a delicate hand offered him a vial. He looked up at Crysania and nodded his thanks as she explained, "This should help his stomach."

Raistlin took the vial and drank it, grimacing as he tasted it. "It takes the attention off my stomach, anyway," he said, then as an afterthought. "Thank you, Crysania."

A small smile crossed her lips, and softly, so only Tanin and Raistlin caught it, "Now, there's a first. You thanking me. Now I know you're sick."

Raistlin rolled his eyes as she walked away. Tanin looked in concern at his Uncle who still seemed a sickly shade of green under the pale skin. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes," said Raistlin as he leaned back with his eyes closed. "I can feel whatever she gave me taking effect. Might be the empty stomach. Tanin, if you get the chance, find out what that was."

"Okay, sure," said Tanin as his Uncle fell into a light doze.

Tanin walked over to the rail and watched as the sea moved under and away from him. Even though he was growing to like his Uncle, he still kept in mind his father's caution, _Everything Raistlin did, he did to benefit himself_. So far, he had to admit that Raistlin was a very cautious man. If there was an ulterior motive to his actions it was very well hidden under his 'good intentions'. Granted, the ulterior motive could be the obvious one of just being able to live again. That wasn't so bad, and Tanin couldn't really blame him if that was his only reason for his deception.

Tanin looked back at his Uncle, who still dozed under the tarp near the center of the ship. He knew his Uncle was evil. There was a darkness to him that Palin had never on his worst day had. But he also seemed to be trying his very best at trying to live as Palin would have. Tanin idly wondered at how much Raistlin had to give up to do so.

Sturm came up to him and asked, "How's Palin?"

"Resting," answered Tanin. "Crysania gave him something for his stomach."

"Another healing potion that puts him to sleep?" Sturm commented drily. "If this keeps up, he'll be sleeping more than Uncle Raistlin."

Tanin chose not to respond to that particular comment, but gave a short bark of laughter at the double irony to it.

* * *

Raistlin woke from his nap a few hours later and looked out from under the tarp that he lay under. Noticing that the sun had set, he came out from under it and decided to find his cabin. He walked unsteadily to where he remembered the captain telling he and Tanin where it was and opened the door.

When Crysania's large cat greeted him he realized that his memory was a bit off.

Crysania sat up in bed, her nightgown falling off one alabaster shoulder. Raistlin worried at his lower lip. "Who's there?" she called softly, and the tiger rumbled. "Ah, Rais... Palin. What bothers you?"

"Actually, I had mixed up where my cabin is," he answered, still rooted to the spot. "I... uh... should be going now. Good night, Revered Daughter."

"No, stay please," Crysania motioned for him to enter, and he did so.

The white tiger got up and exited the cabin, choosing to lay outside the door and Raistlin closed the door. Crysania sighed and said, "We are alone?"

"Yes, Revered Daughter... Crysania."

"Please, sit down."

Raistlin moved to the bed, the only place to sit in the cabin other than the chest. He sat on the edge of the bed and he felt her hand on his. "Perhaps you were guided to the right cabin," she said softly. "I would ask what has transpired with you, but I feel I know."

Raistlin shook his head, then remembered that she couldn't see him. "No, not all of it."

"Tell me?"

Those two words seemed to have more of an effect on him than any other he knew. He found himself telling her of the adventures with his nephews, how they seemed to get into more trouble than kender. She smiled at this, and Raistlin noticed that she was falling asleep again. He moved to leave and she pulled at his hand, looking up at him, "Stay."

"What of the Knights, Revered Daughter, and your reputation?" he asked in concern.

"It was tarnished when you left it," she answered with a note of irony. "This won't make it any worse."

Raistlin allowed himself to lay on the bed beside her, his clothes still on, and she lay on her side and her finger made patterns on the hardened leather of the armor he still wore. "This is new," she remarked. "I thought you were a wizard?"

"I am," he answered, then explained. "But before I was the Master of Past and Present, I was also a war wizard. I rue the day I see any war wizard ride into combat without it. It's tantamount to foolishness."

"What about your spells, can't they protect you?"

"They could, Revered... Crysania, if I could cast them fast enough," Raistlin allowed himself a short, if soft, laugh. "I thought the same as you before I found that there are two banes of a wizard's life: a sword or an arrow. If it were only robes, an arrow would have an easier time killing me. At least with this I can shrug more off. The leather may not be better armor than metal, but metal gets in the way of magic."

"And leather doesn't?"

"Well, it does, but I learned to cast with it on when in my apprenticeship, so I've learned methods of reducing the rate of spell failure when wearing it," he looked over as she traced the half leather suit to wear it cut off below the breastplate, then on his arms where he had donned shoulder guards and lower arm guards.

He had to stifle a gasp when her hands roved to his thick leather breeches. "I'm sorry, but without my sight, my hands are how I see," she apologized, then a note of mischief entered her voice. "But you aren't moving very fast to leave."

"I'm just not used to being touched and... explored... like that," he said. "Am I measuring up?"

"You seem to have gained a little weight."

"Tika's cooking."

Crysania laughed at this. "You wear breeches, and a long tunic instead of a robe. But the rest is the same, you still have your belts and spell component bags where they always hang," her hands then went to his head and his face again, and as her fingers tried to tangle themselves into his hair she found that he had tied it back. "Your hair is longer too, you never could tie all of it back so you always wore it loose. Now it's tied back."

"It's out of way," remarked Raistlin. "So, how do you picture me?"

"I see you now, you are as were, only, I am figuring, without your hourglass eyes and gold skin, no?" she said. "Otherwise, people would be calling you by your name, and not your nephew's. I am curious... what is this?"

Her fingers rested on the stone of the Blue Star on his left hand. Raistlin shrugged, "One of my rings, Crysania."

"It is... holy... and not evil," she said as she traced its outline. "In fact, it is... Neutral. So Neutral that I sense nothing of law or chaos in it. Where did you get it?"

"It's a long story, Crysania," he answered. "One that would take years for me to relate. Suffice it to say that I've had it a very long time but paid it no heed until recently, all right?"

She nodded, "Someday, you will have to tell me this story."

"Someday," he promised.

Suddenly he seemed to notice how close she was to his face, how she leaned over him, arms on either side of his body, the rest of her beside him. As he watched her face seemed to close on his until they were mere inches apart, then not even that. "Crysania..." he whispered so low he wasn't sure if she had heard him, but the note within the tone he rather suspected she did when she closed the gap and her lips landed upon his.

He reached up and tangled his hands in her hair, pulling her down to him. The first kiss broke off, and they took in the aftereffects of it, their eyes closed. "Can we do this?" she whispered as he reached up with a hand and swept her hair out of her face.

For a moment they were both afraid that time had just repeated itself when he stiffened, his eyes going over her face. That fearful moment ended when he relaxed and kissed her lips. "We should have years ago..." came his low whisper as he allowed her to undo the leather tie in his hair.

After that it was a blur to Raistlin, and perhaps to Crysania as well, as the kisses grew in intensity and urgency. Her hands found their way to the ties on his armor and in two twists of her fingers, that lay on the floor. Meanwhile his hand was sliding up her flawless hip, even after so many years, she was still as beautiful as he remembered.

She had rolled over on her back, and pulled him to her so that he lay on her as she curled her legs around his to pull him close. He pulled back from her to look her in her sightless eyes. As sightless as they may have been, they were still the same blue he remembered, only now they were darkened to the same shade of sapphire as his Blue Star ring in passion.

He had moved back a little to allow her access to the ties on his breeches when a loud knocking was heard from the door.

The mood seemed to bounce once, then shatter as he rested his head in the mattress of her bed as she got up and pulled on a robe over her filmy nightgown. When Raistlin went to find his tunic, he realized that she had stolen his and has wearing it to the door. Deciding to take whomever was on the other side nonchalantly, he stayed where he was.

She opened the door and confronted the two sons of Caramon. "Um, excuse us, Revered Daughter, but we noticed Palin was missing... oh..." Sturm spotted Raistlin and was struck speechless.

Tanin recovered, finding the situation more amusing than anything else, "Uh, sorry for disturbing you... we'll be going now. Good night!"

Tanin pulled his younger brother from the doorway, and Raistlin saw the almost apologetic expression on the white tiger's face, as if to say, _I tried to stop them_... Raistlin shrugged although he was a bit frustrated in more ways than one...

* * *

Tanin pulled the still stunned Sturm back to the shared quarters where he, Raistlin, and Sturm had been bunking for the trip. Sturm finally shook off the shock enough to say, "Palin... was... with the Revered Daughter of Paladine..."

"And that's so shocking to you?" muttered Tanin, whose caution bells were going off in full alert. "He is a full grown adult. So's she. If they want to share a bed that's their decision."

So history repeats itself, mused Tanin. I'll have to keep an eye on our dear Uncle...

* * *

Tanin was not the only one reflecting on how history had just repeated itself. Raistlin and Crysania, the romantic mood irrevocably broken, lay on her bed. Crysania had fallen to sleep, but Raistlin found that sleep was not that easy. However amusing it had been, history had repeated itself. Where last time it had been Raistlin who had flung her away, this time a disturbance had simply broken the mood.

He sighed and closed his eyes. It wasn't his nephew's fault, really, he reflected. How were they supposed to know that behind one closed door was a sharing that they were about to disturb when they did it? Precisely. They had not. Sighing again, Raistlin tried to fall asleep.

But sleep would not come.

* * *

The next morning Raistlin was on deck, a little worse for lack of sleep. He leaned on the rail, this time too deep in thoughts to be wracked by yesterday's seasickness. Tanin was a bit nervous to approach, even if the captain had told him that they would be reaching the first port in their journey. "Um, Palin?" Tanin thought it would be better to get it over with now. "Look, I'm sorry about last night."

"It's fine, Tanin," came Raistlin's low voice.

"Are you sure, I feel kinda crappy about it, though..." admitted Tanin, and this got a slight lift of an eyebrow.

"I assure you, it's fine. Wasn't meant to be..."

Tanin caught the regretful note in his Uncle's voice. Oh jeez, thought Tanin. Now I've depressed him. "The captain tells me that we should reach Thonvil by late afternoon, early evening. He says we also have a few days in port as they unload their cargo," Tanin said. "Sturm and I were thinking that perhaps to see the sights...."

"Sights?" this raised a curious note in Raistlin's voice. "You mean 'look for adventure', right?"

"Well... that is part of being a Solamnic Knight," answered Tanin. "Helping out, I mean."

His Uncle rolled his eyes while picking at non-existent lint on his armor. "What about Vingaard?"

"We are assigned there, but Grand Master Uth Wistan told us to fulfill our duties along the way," answered Tanin.

Raistlin suddenly understood, "So... you assignment isn't waiting for you in Vingaard, it's the actual assignment itself? Just getting there? How likely is it that once we get there that we'll be sent right back?"

Tanin smiled, a smile that reminded him of Caramon. "Likely!" came his cheerful answer, glad that his Uncle had 'gotten it'.

Raistlin put his head on his arms and only groaned.

* * *

Just as the sun was about to begin its descent into the sea when suddenly land blazed within sight. "Land ho!" called the man in the crow's nest and Tanin grinned.

His Uncle's seasickness had returned with a full vengeance shortly after lunch, and Raistlin was again dozing the hottest point of the day away under the central tarp.

A few short hours later, the boat slid gracefully into port with a gentle bump. Tanin went to wake Raistlin and found that the archmage was already awake and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with his left hand while idly bouncing the other off his leg. "My hand fell asleep," explained Raistlin as he stood and massaged his hand. "Now I feel like I have pins and needles."

"We're here!" said Sturm. "What should we see first?"

"Well, before we go anywhere, I should see to some spell components," pointed out Raistlin. "So we should find a market or something."

They walked down the gangplank, gear in hand, and Raistlin took a welcoming breath after being on solid ground again. Sturm, in amusement, poked Tanin and pointed out, "The Great Wizard hath a weakness brother."

"Yeah, he gets seasick," laughed Tanin.

Raistlin followed the two of them into Thonvil. Raistlin's first impression of the place was a bustling port town. He idly brushed a stray strand of hair out of his eyes, and ignored the stares of the people all in one motion. Tanin had to admire that about his Uncle even as it made him more than slightly nervous. Everything seemed to just roll off his back like it was nothing at all to him.

Finally, Tanin pointed out a tavern and said, "Maybe they can point us to an inn?"

When they entered, Raistlin read the sign, "Red Wizard's Folly. Sounds like a nice place."

What they found inside was even worse. Raistlin grew grim as he saw the near endless mercenaries. The only break in the heavily armed men and occasional woman was the small group of gnomes that sat drinking with a flamboyant dwarf. Upon their entrance the gnomes pointed to Raistlin and muttered to themselves excitedly. The dwarf was often called upon to calm down their chatter.

Unfortunately, the only place to sit was at a table next to theirs considering no one was wanting to be even near them. Sturm took a table closest to the fireplace and Raistlin sat in the chair closest. Raistlin allowed himself a moment to sit and relax while the brothers ordered ale. The barmaid, while getting a bit too close to Raistlin than he would have preferred (as well as giving him a view of her cleavage best left to a man's imagination...) asked him, "And for you, good sir?"

"White wine," he answered. "Preferably elven."

She flounced (for there was no other word to describe it) back to the bar. Raistlin turned his attention back to the gnomes where they had turned their full attention back on him. Sighing, looking up as he did so, he asked them pointedly, "Is there something interesting about me?"

The dwarf answered, "Actually yes, yes there is. You three wouldn't happen to be brave adventurers, would you?"

Sturm smiled and answered, "Of course we are! I'm Sturm Majere, this is my older brother Tanin, and the wizard is my younger brother Palin Majere."

If it were possible, the other mercenaries moved even farther away. "So, that staff would be the famed Staff of Magius?" asked the dwarf, and Raistlin's curt nod, he laughed heartily. "My name is Dougan Redhammer, and these fellows are... well... they always speak too fast for me to catch their names. Now, you were saying you are adventurers."

"Actually, we're Knights of Solamnia," said Tanin, clarifying. "Palin is an auxiliary knight since he's a Wizard of the White Robes."

Raistlin noticed Dougan's look of disbelief. "Of the White Robes you say?" one of this eyebrow's lifted. "Really."

"Yes," answered Sturm proudly, and both Tanin and Raistlin rolled their eyes. "He passed his Test last year. We have high hopes for him."

Dougan looked from Raistlin to Sturm and back to Raistlin again. "Last year?"

With a wan smile, Raistlin nodded. "It was the Test of a lifetime. Felt like it took that long too."

"Well, perhaps I can interest you in a wager..." Dougan looked at the boys, from Sturm's eager face, to Tanin's cautious, but curious face to Raistlin's.... Well, he had always played with his cards close to his vest. Why should now be any different? "... I have in my supply some dwarf spirits. It will put hair on young men's chests... if you can out drink me and the gnomes, we can give you a map to nearby cavern where there's treasure to be had. If we out drink you, you have to help us with our little journey."

Before Sturm could say anything, Raistlin said, "A map? That's it? And why would steel or jewels interest Knights?"

"Shrewd fellow," pointed out Dougan to his gnome companions. "Well, rumor has it that a holy item to Kiri-Jolith is amongst the treasure, and as much as the Knights have searched for it, they haven't found it yet. Our map clearly points to the ruins and how to get around the dangers that lurk there. Interested? Or is that not enough reason for you?"

Sturm leapt in with before Raistlin could speak up again, "Surely! We're in!"

"Oh no," mumbled Raistlin as he brought one hand up to his head.

"We'll go first, just to give you humans a fair chance," Dougan called the barmaid over and passed around the flasks of dwarf spirits.

Raistlin watched, knowing the outcome. As expected, except for one weaker gnome, none showed any signs of inebriation. Not good for them. He rather suspected, that like that small gnome, that the first to be passed out would likely be him.

Dougan passed them each a flask and Raistlin watched as first Tanin, after a cautious sip, said, "You know, Father is going to skin us alive."

Tanin then drank the flask. Sturm pointed out right before finishing his own flask, "If Mother doesn't beat him to it."

Afterwards, the two brothers looked at Raistlin in expectation. He caught Dougan's interested gaze, as well as the gnomes. Raistlin tipped the flask to Dougan in mock salute, "I blame you for whatever happens after this."

He drank the flask. It wasn't so bad going down. Tasted a bit of the subtle mushrooms used in the brewing process... then the after bite hit him. Raistlin fought back, not only tears as it burned a warm trail down his insides, but also a coughing fit as he fought to catch his breath as he fought said burning trail. Once he had recovered, with Sturm clapping him on the back and Tanin on his feet and supported his chair, he said in a hoarse whisper, "Please tell me one of the gnomes lost. Don't make me drink another..."

Catching his breath, he saw Dougan's wide eyes, and a warm sensation in his hand caused him to look down at the Blue Star and see Dougan for who, and what, he really was.

Oh drat.

He was caught red handed as it were. Dougan Redhammer was no ordinary dwarf. He was Reorx, God of the Forge. Considering the surprised look to Dougan, he guessed that only the Gods of Magic, and Takhisis, knew about his return. Raistlin shook his head, straightened up and leaned back in his chair. "Your turn, Dougan," he said.

Dougan smiled and tipped up the refilled glass. "To your health, Master Majere," he said right before drinking.

The gnomes drank their mugs, and all too soon, for Raistlin, it came to be their turn again. He mentally went through his spells and wondered if any of them would he of any help to him, but knew that would be taken as cheating. Too bad that little gnome in the corner... a _sleep_ spell would have won the Majere's the contest. Tanin drank his flask, choked on it, and took a steadying breath. Two. Tanin was near his limit with two. A little line of cold sweat worked its way down Raistlin's spine as he watched Sturm drink his. With much relief, Sturm didn't show any overt adverse affects.

However, if Tanin couldn't hold more than two, Raistlin might as well admit defeat. He watched as his mug was filled and he tipped it to Dougan. "Remember well what I said, Master Redhammer."

Raistlin drank it and the effect was near immediate. Granted, the burning sensation wasn't so bad as it had been, in fact, it was almost pleasant. If feeling like a hole was about to be bored through your gut was considered pleasant...

Tanin watched with detached morbid curiosity as his Uncle finished the mug of dwarf spirits in one pull... and promptly fainted. It was almost a relief as his own head seemed to hit the table. Sturm stood unsteadily and slurred, "My brother... have to help my brother..." before he hit the floor too.

Dougan looked at the passed out Raistlin. "Well, that was certainly historic..."

* * *

A/N: Is anyone reading this, anyone at all? 


	4. A New Journey

Raistlin is in a worse pickle. Now he's on a ship full of tinker gnomes! And we also get to see, for once, a really, really _really_ pissed off Raistlin...

Thank you to my reviewers. For awhile I was not sure if anyone was reading it (yeah, I know, I'm a bit on the paranoid side...). Lord Terrence is working on the research end of this (namely, re-reading the books in question...)

In answer to Dalamar Nightson's question: Yes. The end of Dragons of Summer Flame is going to be different than originally– it bothered me too! How? Well, you're going to have to wait for that, lol.

For fans of Ektatrina, she is going to be playing a bigger role.

* * *

Chapter Three  
A New Journey

* * *

The first thing Raistlin came aware of was that he was on another ship. He opened his eyes a slit and immediately regretted it as the light drove little painful daggers into his head. He closed them again and groaned. "Palin?" came Sturm's voice. "Are you okay?"

Raistlin, at the sound that seemed like it was shouting even though it was only a whisper, groaned again. "He's not all right you boob, he's _hung-over_," answered Tanin sharply.

"Both of you– shut up!" ordered Raistlin. "The sound of you hurts my ears right now."

He was rewarded with silence, except for the strange whooshing sound he heard every so often. He lay there, just breathing. After awhile the sound was not so painful and he slowly opened his eyes. Oh yes, he was on yet another damn ship. And... to top it all off... he was tied to the bed. Looking around, he saw that he wasn't the only one. Both Tanin and Sturm were similarly tied to their bunks. "How long have we been here?" asked Raistlin softly.

"Well, Sturm woke up first, and he says it was a few hours before I did," said Tanin. "The sun rose then. You, however just woke and it's past midday. How long Sturm was out, I have no idea."

Raistlin closed his eyes again and thought on this, as much as he could think without the gnomes in his head clattering unbearably. He was never, ever, in his life how ever long it could be, going to ever drink dwarf spirits again. Finally he took a breath and began chanting a quick little spell. Thankfully, it was only one of his many cantrips and the ropes slid from his arms and ankles. Once he was free, he sat up slowly, but that didn't work and he found himself bending over and retching into a conveniently placed bucket.

When he had no more to throw up, he still gave in to the dry heaves until they passed. Looking at Sturm as he wiped his lips off with a rag, he said, "The next time, let me do the talking."

"Okay..." said Sturm. "So long as I never see that again. You scared us. You were lying there so still and so pale we thought we had killed you."

Raistlin smiled a little at this, "Remember that, because the next time you actually might. Ever hear of alcohol poisoning? Your... our father... was nearly killed by it."

_I would really hate to see it happen again, this time with me_, he added silently. He walked over and twitched a muscle in his right arm as the Dagger of Magius slipped into his hand. He cut their bonds and they both slowly sat up and rubbed their arms. While they didn't look near as bad as he did, they didn't look all that healthy either. "I am going to kill Dougan," muttered Raistlin, who added just under his breath. "Not that it would do much good. He'd probably just regenerate whatever I hack off anyway."

Tanin tried the door and said despondently, "We're locked in."

Raistlin, who already was in no mood for humor, went over to the door, tried it, frowned, then knelt down and checked his pockets for... _ah ha_. Funny how they never seemed to search wizards for _those_ particular items. He was beginning to thank his elder sister for kicking his rear into learning all _sorts_ of interesting skills. Pulling out a long thin wire and a file, he set to work.

Sturm looked at Tanin, "Uh, can he..."

He was cut off by a satisfying click as Raistlin successfully picked the locked door and it swung open. Sturm whispered to Tanin, "Where in the Abyss did he learn to do that?"

Tanin had watched in mute disbelief as his Uncle had picked the lock. Up until now, much of what Raistlin was capable of had been somewhat predictable. Seeing his Uncle pick a lock was beginning to push the limits of what he had even heard of Raistlin doing. The two brothers looked at Raistlin, as he motioned for them to precede him. Sturm took up the rear and they walked up onto the deck.

Once there, they were regarded in shock by the gnomes, as Dougan looked up, saw the three of them on deck and lifted an eyebrow. The two brothers then watched as Raistlin's face grew grim and he stalked up to the gaudy dwarf and demanded, "Why in the Abyss did you have to resort to kidnapping to get me to help you?"

"I didn't think you would come otherwise," answered Dougan. "And it does interest you. I was not sure if your nephews would come as well while you fulfill your duty as Miiro."

"What are you gabbering on now?" demanded Raistlin.

Sturm leaned over to Tanin, "Did that dwarf just refer to us as his nephew's?"

Tanin nodded, thinking, _The dwarf knows... how could he?_ "Okay, so if we're his nephews, that would mean he's Uncle Rais..." Sturm went white. "Oh by all the Gods of Krynn, Dad is going to have a fit."

"We're not going to tell him..." Tanin whispered back, watching the fight between his Uncle and the dwarf."

"... I could blast you to your damnable forge for stealing me! Me! And you got me drunk and hung over!" Raistlin held his hands to his head.

"Now, Raistlin...." began Dougan. "Hear me out! It's about the..."

Sturm sat down where he was and put his head in his hands. "He's Uncle Raistlin. The Raistlin Majere. Father's twin. He's supposed to be dead... at least twenty-five years dead...."

Tanin put a hand on his shoulder in consolation.

"I could care less on what it's about!" Raistlin threw his hands up in the air. "Okay, you have one chance to explain before I teleport my nephews and I out of here."

"Well, it's about the Greygem," said Dougan and was rewarded by a lift of an eyebrow from Raistlin. "It got away on me."

Raistlin leaned on the rail. "Oh no. You just didn't say that."

"Aye, I'm afraid I did, Guardian," said Dougan. "The Miracle is on a heading to Gargath's Isle. There, we will find Lord Gargath and the Greygem. Your task is to get the Graygem and return to me."

"And what makes you think we can?" asked Tanin. "Why don't you do it yourself?"

For a moment Dougan was silent. "Aye, a good question that is," said Dougan. "A very good question... You see... I can't. It would know me and make an effort to escape. You however, it does not know... well..." he looked at Raistlin. "Except for one of you, anyhow. So, will you do it?"

"You leave me with little, choice, dwarf," growled Raistlin. "When you dangle the heavy responsibility in front of me. Enough. I'm going to bed and try and sleep off this hang over you gave me."

"I gave you!" came Dougan's indignant bark. "You didn't have to drink with me!"

Raistlin didn't seem to want to dignify that with an answer and so he didn't. Tanin watched his Uncle walk away, and back down below likely to the quarters they had found themselves in. With a sigh, Tanin turned to Dougan, "Where is our weapons and armor? Our gear. You can't expect us to help you with nothing with which to defend ourselves."

"I'll show you where it is," then the dwarf began to grumble. "Damnable Guardian. Why'd she have to make him her successor. I could have found a suitable Guardian for that damn ring..."

Tanin filed that away as he and Sturm followed the dwarf to a storeroom just down from their quarters. Once he had opened the door, Sturm and Tanin recovered not only their belongings, but also Raistlin's. At first, he was rather amused at Sturm's hesitance at taking the Staff of Magius or even Raistlin's pack and belts for his spell components, but after Tanin lifted a brow, Sturm bravely grabbed all and they carted across the hall and to their quarters.

They watched as the dwarf locked the storeroom again, and walked back up on deck, grumbling about some Guardian or another. They entered as quietly as they could and sorted out their belongings. Tanin thoughtfully placed all of Raistlin's gear in the footlocker at the foot of his bunk and leaned the Staff against the bed within easy reach.

His Uncle appeared to sleep through the sorting and the putting away, but he was entirely too still and too quiet. "Uncle Raistlin?" asked Sturm quietly, picking up on Tanin's unease. "Are... you sleeping?"

"No," came the quiet answer. "It was the only thing I could think of doing at the time to allow time for me to think."

"Oh. Sorry," Sturm blushed, then asked the question that had been burning inside since he found out that this tiny man was actually his Uncle. "Uncle Raistlin? Um... I don't know how to ask this and I don't want to upset you... but how'd you survive the Abyss?"

Raistlin opened one pale sky blue eye and stared at Sturm. Sturm blushed deeper and in a low tone, "Sorry. See, I still upset you."

With a sigh, Raistlin swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up, leaned forward a bit and put his elbows on his knees, leaning on his arms as he did so. "You didn't upset me. If I were in your position, I would want to know the same thing," he answered gently. "I wasn't in the Abyss. I was... well, I don't know. I was asleep for twenty years until Lunitari woke me last year. Anything else?"

Sturm looked at Raistlin, "Where's Palin?"

Raistlin looked down at the ground sadly and said, "Sturm, I... I'm sorry. In a way it was my fault, so there is no easy way to tell you this. Your brother died during his Test. Lunitari woke me and I tried to save him but in the end, I guess I just was not fast enough. For some reason, I guess, that act broke my curse and I would up here with everyone thinking I was your brother. I didn't have the heart to tell anyone the truth, and for that I am deeply sorry. I guess I'm just as much the coward everyone thought me..."

With that a deep silence descended on the room. "A coward? You?" Sturm sputtered. "No!"

Even Tanin was shocked at the admission of his Uncle. "Uncle Raistlin, if half the tales told about you have a grain of truth to them, you by far are not a coward. Maybe you were... are... a bit power hungry... ambitious... but never a coward."

"Yeah, don't say that," said Sturm.

Raistlin smiled wearily, and Tanin asked, "You do look pale, though."

"I'm still hung over," came his dry response, then he sighed as he lay back down. "Maybe I might actually take that nap..."

Sturm and Tanin tried to make as little noise as possible as they slipped out into the hallway and made their way on deck of the gnome ship. Once they were out of earshot and relatively insured of some privacy, Sturm took Tanin's shoulder and asked, "How long have you known?"

"Since the bandit attack after he was inducted into the Order of the White Robes," answered Tanin. "He was too good at magic for him to be Palin, so I suspected he might be someone else. Then I put two and two together. The way Dalamar deferred to him, brought him the Staff of Magius. His skill with magic, and his resemblance. Did you ever see how much he looks like Palin? No wonder Dad was always so... nervous."

"Yeah, I noticed that, right after I noticed all the little differences too," agreed Sturm. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"He told me not to," said Tanin sheepishly. "And trust me, it was so hard sometimes. I wanted to scream it to the world that my Uncle walked Krynn again, that I was gifted enough to meet him. At the same time I wanted to scream my grief that it was not Palin... that my brother lay dead."

Sturm looked towards their quarters, "I have to admit, I have the same strange double edged feeling as you. I want to cry my eyes out at losing my brother... but at the same time I want to run in there and hug my Uncle with all my might for the gift of seeing him, of meeting him. You know, he's not like anything the others say. He's nicer. Sadder, but nicer..."

He seemed to realize something, "Uh... you know that night we barged in on him and Lady Crysania... we kinda bust in on a personal moment... you suppose she knows about him?"

"Yeah, she does," answered Tanin, scratching his head at the same time. "Although, if you hugged Uncle Raistlin with all your might, you would likely break something."

* * *

Crysania walked back on board the ship and asked, "Where are the Majere's?"

"They haven't shown up yet. Perhaps they found a different ship, my lady," answered the captain, with a bit of a sneer. "I thought I saw the wizard with a dwarf and a bunch of gnomes, but he was being carried by them."

"Carried by them?" Crysania stared in horror. "Are you telling me they were kidnapped?"

"Matters little to me. The wizard gave me the willies, he did," admitted the Captain. "Zeboim take that one. We'll all be better off."

"I'll trust you to not invoke that name on this voyage, Captain, or I will be forced to find another ship to take me to Palanthas!" she used every ounce of her noble upbringing for her arch reply and was rewarded with a slight bow from the man.

"I beg your pardon milady, I meant no disrespect to you, or your God. But the Lady of the Sea is one all sailors must follow lest we wind up on the bottom," answered the Captain, as he walked off to see to his crew and his cargo.

Crysania looked off into the distance she could no longer see, and murmured, "Paladine walk with you, my old friend, even if no one else will..."

* * *

Raistlin woke with a whispering feeling of being watched. Opening his eyes, he sensed the strange woman before he could see her fully. He sat up, now that he had the strength to. "We meet again," he said and she looked at him sadly. "Who, or what, are you?"

"I forgot what it felt like to sail," she said. "It was so dark all the time. I wished and wished for the day where I would feel fresh air and see daylight again. Sometimes, the heavy drapes moved enough for a sliver of light to come through, but more often than not, I saw only the heat of the sun as it beat upon them, but never the full sun."

He sighed. If she wasn't going to answer him, it was likely she never would. She touched his cheek, "But I was always kept warm of how you always cared for me and carried me with you. How you always never considered yourself complete unless you carried me."

"You're the Blue Star..." he said in awe. "You're the true Miiro, the Greater Balance..."

She smiled then, "No, you never consider yourself complete with that. Just a heavy burden you bear."

She kissed him lightly, "But you are close."

A knock sounded and she disappeared again. Raistlin got up, as his nephews slowly woke from their sleep, and opened the door. Dougan Redhammer was on the other side, "Gargath Isle will be in sight near the afternoon."

He walked away afterwards, and Raistlin noticed that the sun was just rising. His head didn't hurt so badly, but it had been a few days since the drinking contest. This was only the second appearance of the red-robed woman, and it was a bit unnerving at times. She knew him well, that was for sure. And his lab. But what item of his spent years upon years in the dark of his lab...

His eye strayed to the Staff of Magius, how it felt warm to the touch, so smooth like a woman's skin... He gasped and could almost see the dark-haired Tarsian woman wink in the corner of his room.

The bloody Staff was one of those truly rare items that were intelligent. And what an intelligence! The image of her faded, and Raistlin decided that more study was required, if study would be the right word for it. His thumb played over a set of runes that he had never been able to decipher with a slight smile on his face.

The nephews looked at their Uncle, and Tanin wondered what his Uncle was thinking. What he could be thinking, then remembered something the dwarf had said earlier, "Uncle, he called you a Guardian before. What did he mean?"

Sturm looked up in interest, and the slight half smile fell off of Raistlin's face. Raistlin sighed and walked over to the small port hole as he looked out over the sea. "Another failure. Only this time it will not let me walk away and calls me to my duty, mind you, one I never asked for, but my duty nonetheless. I am Guardian to an item that if it were lost all existence would be lost. Only a few are called, or able to even be called. And I am one of those very few," he turned, and as he did so, he slowly turned into the form he was rather famous for; the golden skinned, golden eyed, and silver white haired Raistlin Majere.

Only minus the hourglass eyes, although, at the present moment, he was at a loss on how he had broken Reylanna's curse. "This is my calling, my mark, my curse should I fail. Which, I guess I did before because I could never look normal if I wanted to," he answered as the gold tinge faded until he was as he had been before his own Test. He also ignored Sturm's shocked look... "When I tried to save Palin... I think I may have called on the power of the item. I don't know. I can't remember what happened other than Lunitari waking me and calling me to my duty. I went to save Palin in the Abyss, failed, then woke on the floor of my lab. From there I passed out and woke to Laura and Dezra waking me. The rest you know because I have been with you since. Beyond that I have no explanation."

Sturm recovered and said, "You seem to have your magic."

Raistlin turned the rest of the way around and smiled wanly, "Yes, so it would seem. I'm surprised at that. I would have thought the Gods would have feared what I might do should I return to the land of the living. Enough of this. Now, Sturm, you cannot tell your father I'm still alive. Remember, at all times, I am Palin. Unless, of course, you would see me judged by the Conclave and likely executed for my crimes?"

Sturm shook his head vigorously, "No Uncle Raistlin! I don't want that. I miss Palin, but there's no bringing him back, and I don't want to lose you now that we have you back." He turned silent for a moment. "Uncle Raistlin, was Palin... did the Dark Queen...?"

"She did not torture him," answered Raistlin sadly. "He died bravely, never once begging for his life or even for mercy. He never once compromised his beliefs. I grieve for the loss of such a talented wizard with so much potential, as I grieve the loss of my brave nephew. He is in Paladine's hands, of that I have no doubt. I think I at least saw to that... before the Dark Queen could devour his soul. I know she's rather upset at me over something beyond trying to take over her domain, anyway."

Sturm looked down at the deck flooring in their shared quarters. Raistlin walked over and knelt down so that he was at the same height as Sturm from where he sat. Putting one hand on his shoulder, he said, "I would grieve the same if anything happened to you or Tanin, so, on this mission and any others we happen to get roped into, keep that in mind and be careful, agreed?"

Sturm nodded and Raistlin looked up at Tanin, who said, "Agreed, Uncle."

"Good, remember that," said Raistlin. "Now, I know with your silly idea of honor, and I mean no disrespect by this, that you won't run from a battle. Don't be surprised if I force us to. Because if see that we're in a situation that we're not going to win, I'm teleporting all of us out, got me?"

"Yes, Uncle Raistlin," came two voiced.

Raistlin nodded, "I mean to start now. Now, we have to plan our next plan of action. I'm going to find Dougan and see what I can learn about this Isle of Gargath. I would suggest resting up, sharpening swords, whatever you Knights do. I'll be back."

The two younger men watched as Raistlin left, and Sturm turned to Tanin, "He may be nicer than what everyone says he is, but he sure is as _bossy_ as they say he is..."

* * *


	5. Beached

_A/N_: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! We were starting to worry, lol.

* * *

Chapter Four  
Beached

* * *

Raistlin found Dougan almost where he had left him, only watching the gnomes work. Raistlin, who had a bit of a prejudice against gnomes, was already near the end of his notoriously short patience. Being stuck on a gnome ship after being taken half against his will, was enough to bring him even closer to losing what temper he had.

It was typical of gnomish invention, and well named. If they got back in one piece it would certainly be a miracle.

Leaning on his Staff as he did so, Raistlin chose to make a point as he changed to his more famous form, the one with gold skin, and said, "Now that my nephews are otherwise occupied, I would like to speak to you."

Dougan turned around, his eyes opened slightly in surprise at seeing Raistlin as every one knew him, and answered in his dwarves accent., "O'course. What concerns ye?"

"The Greygem is notorious for having guards, either wittingly or unwittingly, I wish to know what we are facing. I lost one nephew to the meddling of the Gods, I'll not lose more," stated Raistlin in his usual whisper, half relieved to not have to hide his identity, even for a short time. "I can see by the slant of the sun that we head in a Northerly direction. That means warmer climes. What kind of plant life can we expect, and what kind of temperatures?"

Dougan sighed and scratched his bearded chin. "Warm. Jungle. I don't think your nephews will appreciate it with their type of armor. Come to think of it, you might not with your robes. The natives wear as little as possible," Dougan watched as Raistlin fell silent, his eyes distant as he thought. "As fer guards, I don't know. Don't think you can get out of the deal, Guardian, just because it's not to yer liking."

"Nothing of the sort crossed my mind, Reorx," Raistlin tapped the bronze shod end of his Staff on the deck as if in emphasis. "I need to know what to expect so as to prepare my spells, and think of what to equip my nephew's. What are the natives capable of? Do they fight with steel, or wood and stone? Do they have spell users of some sort?"

Dougan thought for a minute, "No steel, very rudimentary. I don't know of any other spell users on the island, other than Gargath, and I suspect he's dead."

Raistlin thought on this and paced to the rail as the cycling sail that the gnomish ship used as propulsion cycled over, dumping fish on all. He frowned, then scowled at the nearest gnome, watching as it ran screaming in terror back to what it had been doing. He turned his attention back to Dougan, "Nice to know you still have that effect on gnomes, Guardian."

* * *

Tanin and Sturm sat in their quarters. Sturm was polishing the last of the shine into his sword and Tanin was checking his gear for wear and tear. The door opened and they looked up to see their uncle standing there.

With much vexation, they then watched him as he stripped off his leather armor... and moments later put it back on. He looked at them, grasped his Staff. "Up, we have a bit of a side trip to make. I told Dougan to throw anchor when we get to Gargath Isle, and he has."

"We're here?" asked Tanin, now aware of the lack of motion from the ship, although it still swayed with the gentle rocking of the waves.

"Yes, we're here," said Raistlin with a sigh as he beckoned them closer to him. "And you aren't going to like what I say next."

"What's that?" asked Tanin as he as Sturm did as beckoned.

A few seconds later, the two brothers felt the unnerving feel of the magic as the ship seemed to fade away, moments later they stood in a lab. Tanin asked, "Where are we?"

"My lab in Palanthas," answered Raistlin nonchalantly, stripping himself of his armor.

Both brothers stopped dead in their tracks, Sturm backed into Raistlin as one of the spectral guardians appeared, "Master. We had expected you so soon."

"I'm not going to be here long..." answered Raistlin. "Summon my apprentice. I have need of him."

"Yes, Master," the spectre disappeared.

Sturm and Tanin settled on a corner of the lab that was relatively clear of dust and other arcane devices. Sturm whispered to Tanin, "Definitely more powerful than Palin. He's wealthy too..."

Tanin had also noticed that detail. Raistlin by far was not suffering for money. Anything he could ever want was within easy asking, magical or not. Then again, such wealth and power came with being the most powerful magus on Krynn... indeed, to ever walk Krynn. Tanin relaxed, whispering back, "And he likes us, we're family. While we're with him, we're his guests. No one here can harm us, so relax."

Sturm thought for a moment and nodded his head, visibly relaxing. Raistlin walked over to them, his armor in hand, "Redhammer tells me that where we're going is hot and humid. The natives fight with stone and wood."

Raistlin thrust his armor into Tanin's hands. "Wear this, it will be more comfortable. Ironically, given the power of the magic in the armor, even though it's mere leather, it will be more protection than the unenchanted plate you wear," Raistlin opened a few cupboards, seemingly looking for something, finding it, he pulled out the rest of the same suit. "I usually only wear the breastplate and arm guards, but you will find the rest of the suit more to your liking."

Sturm shuffled his feet, "Uncle, what about me?"

Raistlin paced a bit, "Unfortunately, I have only one suit in my possession. I never had to think of another. I know you would likely not go unarmored, and to do so in plate would be suicidal considering the clime. You, Sturm, are not going to like my answer."

Sturm looked at him questioningly, "What answer... oh _no_, not here! Uncle, I can at least wait on the _Miracle_!"

If possible, Raistlin's face grew grimmer, "Unfortunately, for your own good, yes, you have to. If I leave you on the Miracle, you would be tempted to come to our aid as you are, and I suspect that the fewer of us that go the better."

Finally, the door opened to reveal a slightly out of breath Dalamar, "_Shalafi_, I was not expecting your return so soon... Oh... you've brought guests..."

"Yes..." said Raistlin. "I have. Sturm will be staying a few days. I will not, and Tanin will accompanying me. Since I'm not in them, I certainly hope my personal suite is not taken?"

Dalamar shook his head, "No, _Shalafi_, it is not. I had it cleared out once I learned of your return to the face of Krynn. All of your belongings were returned, all is as you left it."

"Good then," said Raistlin, looking at Sturm. "Sturm, I trust you have met my apprentice, Dalamar? No? Dalamar, this is my youngest nephew, Sturm Majere. He is my guest and will be treated as such. I know the guardians will know their duty... I certainly hope you do as well. Sturm, this is my apprentice Dalamar Nightson. If you require anything, deal directly with him."

Dalamar stepped close to Sturm, "May I ask..."

"I would explain,"said Raistlin. "But we don't have time. Tanin..."

Raistlin beckoned him back to his side, and Raistlin turned to Sturm with a sigh, seeing the look on his face. "Remember what I said. I will not watch another nephew die. You are safer here. I will return for you."

"Be safe, Uncle Raistlin," said Sturm, then he smiled. "At least I get to say I spent a night at my Uncle's for a visit..."

Raistlin smiled, a rare and true smile that actually reached his eyes, creasing the first signs of age on his face around his eyes and mouth, "Yes, indeed. Perhaps if we weren't so harried, we could all stay here one day and relax."

With that Raistlin and Tanin were enveloped by his magic and disappeared from sight. Once the magic had faded in the room and the room was plunged into the gloom, Dalamar sighed, "If it is not to forward, I would like to know why he left you here?"

Sturm shrugged, "I would explain, but I hardly understand. It would be better if you ask him... um... I don't mean to be forward myself, but I'm feeling a bit hungry. He kind of rushed us off without a meal..."

Dalamar could only sigh as he led the nephew of Raistlin down to Raistlin's chambers. Opening the double doors into the study, he led him through the study to the single iron clad wooden door. "This is my _Shalafi_'s study. You may spend your time here if you wish, just do not touch any of his magic books. With your outlook on life, they would likely leave some nasty burns on your hands. The other books you may read, they are simply history and other reference books. If you are cold, you may also light a fire in the fireplace," Dalamar sighed. "It is still early in the season, so it can be cold at night."

Sturm was busy looking around the spacious study area. The room was almost twice the size as the common area in the Inn of the Last Home, and was richly decorated with black velvet drapes and opulently plush decor. A thick tapestry carpet was under his feet and ran most of the length and width of the room, stopped only five feet before the massive stone fireplace. A desk that could have accommodated Sturm laying on it lengthwise dominated the room but was by far not taking up any amount of space in the room. "Does my Uncle own this?"

Dalamar blinked his eyes, "Yes, yes he does. Whatever he needs, he buys. If he cannot buy it, he summons it. But typically he buys it. The wealth of the Tower was his the minute he walked past the Shoikan Grove."

Pushing open the other door, Dalamar gestured, "This is your Uncle's personal chambers. During your stay, you may rest there. _Shirak_."

The magical torches within the room glowed and Sturm walked in. His Uncle's bedroom was the same size as his study, maybe a bit smaller, but the difference was unnoticeable. Sturm could only look around in wonder at the opulence here. The bed could have slept easily five men of his father's size, and then possible another at the foot of the bed, such was the size of the bed. The four posts was taller than Sturm by another half a height, and the canopy of the bed was dark blue and black silk and velvet with white linen netting. The covers on the bed were of thick velvet as well with at least two or three blankets. Two chairs sat by the fireplace, and their upholstery was also the same rich fabrics, in the same midnight blue, as the rest of the room.

Sturm sat down in one of the chairs and looked around at the tapestries that decorated the walls, drinking in how very, very rich his Uncle had to be to afford all of this. "What is he, a Lord of Palanthas?" he asked in disbelief.

Dalamar shrugged, "I suppose you could call him that. He has enough influence given the placing of the Tower within the Inner City. Now, if you will excuse me, I have students of my own to attend to. An apprentice will bring you your meal."

Sturm nodded, then leaned back in his chair. "In-bloody-credible," he murmured under his breath. "What next?"

* * *

Raistlin and Tanin rematerialized in the shared quarters. Raistlin sat down heavily on his bed and leaned back on the wall. Tanin noted the drawn look to his face and imagined that not one, but two spells of Teleportation must have been quite draining, even given the skill level of his Uncle. "Are you all right? You look... tired."

"I will be," he whispered. "I just need a moment to rest."

Tanin went back up on deck, dressed in the armor and the lighter clothing that had been suppled by his Uncle. Dougan lifted an eyebrow. "Yer back."

"Yes, Uncle Raistlin felt that it would wiser for us to be properly prepared," answered Tanin.

"Where's yer brother?" asked Dougan. "I know there was three, now I can tell there is only two."

"He's in Palanthas," answered Tanin. "Our Uncle also felt that just the two of us would be enough. Combined with the fact that he only had one suit of armor to give us. He goes without."

Dougan frowned and ran a hand through his beard, "Just like that? Took off to Palanthas and came back? So... perhaps there is something to Luni's claim that he had returned to his duty..."

Tanin barely heard what the dwarf said, but picked up half of it. He chose to ignore it for now, but, as usual with information concerning his Uncle, filed it away for future use. He had learned so much about his Uncle that perhaps even his father did not know. He caught Dougan's gaze and followed it to see his Uncle come up on deck. The gnomes were visibly nervous around him, but given his reputation around gnomes this was hardly surprising.

"We're ready, Redhammer," said Raistlin simply.

Dougan nodded, "Very well, we'll land..."

* * *

Raistlin climbed out of the small dinghy and dropped onto the sand. Tanin similarly climbed out and came to stand beside him. Raistlin's eyes seemed to be far off into the distance, as if searching something out. Dougan came up to them and asked, "Well, Guardian? What do you sense?"

"The Chaotic properties of the Greygem," answered Raistlin. "This island... is contaminated with it. How long has it been here, Reorx?"

Dougan thought for a moment. Tanin allowed his eyes to widen. Well, that wasn't something you heard everyday. One God and an Uncle who was supposed to be long dead, but could not be allowed to die. Interesting group. Somehow Tanin did not find this reassuring at all if Reorx had called in Raistlin to do something he evidently could not. He followed his Uncle and Reorx, in the form of Dougan Redhammer, into the jungle.

In retrospect, he could see why Raistlin had decided not to take Sturm. He could see why Raistlin had also said that metal armor would have cooked them. Even though the leather was a lighter armor, and it breathed, it was still very, very hot. The jungle was hot, humid, and Tanin was already sweating heavily. Looking ahead, he could see that his Uncle's dark hair was slicked back and soaking wet with his own sweat. Dougan didn't look much more comfortable than they did either.

Finally, when they came to a small clearing, Raistlin looked up and tried to see through the tops of the trees. "I can't tell where the sun is, but I can sense that we're going in the right direction. We'll rest here."

Tanin picked his foot up out of the wet ground. "Uncle, I don't mean to question you, but where?"

Raistlin pointed up. "We'll have to suspend ourselves in the trees. We still need to have a watch, even if it's against snakes and the such."

"I'll not climb a tree!" exclaimed Dougan.

"Either climb or sleep on the ground, matters little to me, dwarf," retorted Raistlin hotly, as he then began to climb himself until he reached a secure enough branch to sit on.

Tanin, in the same tree, climbed to an adjacent branch. After much muttering, Dougan climbed to one just below them. Raistlin appeared to be memorizing spells, and Tanin said, "I can take first watch...."

"...No, it's all right, nephew," said Raistlin. "When I finished studying my magic, I will wake you and you can take second watch."

"Okay, fine," said Tanin, as he balanced himself and fell into a light sleep.

Dougan was already snoring, and with a sigh, Raistlin went back to his studying.

* * *

Sturm leaned in the window and watched as the sun went down over Palanthas. He had stripped out of his armor and was wearing the simple tunic and breeches he wore around Solace when not journeying. He had stored his armor in a closet not too far away from the bed. He snorted. Not like anything would be a threat to him when his Uncle had told the guardians that he was his guest. If anything did attack, Sturm had enough time to don his armor and make himself ready for battle.

But it was nice to relax. A knock on the door to the study broke him out of his thoughts and he went and opened it. A young woman, a red robe, walked in and set a tray down. "I was told you bring you your dinner, sir," she said.

"Thank you... ah... I didn't catch your name..." he said.

"Meilena," she answered, with a small inclination of her head. "From Valkinord."

"Sturm Majere of Solace," answered Sturm, and her eyes widened a bit at that.

"As in Raistlin's nephew?"

"Yes," answered Sturm. "I'm here for a few days as a guest."

"Oh..." she said, mildly surprised. "It was... nice to meet you."

With that she left. Sturm sighed a bit and looked outside at the night sky.

* * *

Meilena entered the shared room with her roommate, Yeris. "So, you got the servant girl duty to that Knight that Dalamar is keeping locked up... albeit in the best quarters in the whole Tower," she sneered.

Yeris was a black robe, and a rather nasty one at that. Meilena swore that if the Test picked them on attitude, then Yeris had top honors. Meilena shrugged indifferently, "Somehow I don't think Dalamar could keep him, if he wanted to leave. At least, not considering who he really is."

Yeris rolled her eyes, "Raistlin in armor?"

"Close. His nephew, Sturm Majere," Meilena had the satisfaction of seeing Yeris' jaw drop.

"His nephew?" Yeris fell back on her bed, then leaned forward again. "Did you talk to him? Is he... handsome...?"

Meilena smiled wickedly, "Oh yes, very. And yes I did talk to him. He was polite, quiet, and very noble. Very much a Knight."

Yeris let her head sink into her pillow, "What did you do to get that assignment?"

Meilena shrugged, "I don't know. Perhaps I actually studied what I was told to study and didn't pick on any other students. I guess it could have been that..."

She ignored Yeris' glare as she turned to her spell book and began to study.

* * *

Tanin woke to Raistlin gentle calling. Remembering that he was in a tree branch, Tanin carefully looked up at his Uncle. It was still dark, lit only by the Staff of Magius. Raistlin looked sleepy, and he said, "Your watch."

Tanin sat up and leaned against the trunk as his Uncle carefully balanced himself in the branch and lay down. Moments later he was asleep. The Staff, somehow, not only remained lit, but also remained in the same still position as it had been when Raistlin had been holding it. It was as if the Staff decided to stay lit as a light for Tanin. The rest of the night, and Tanin's watch came and went. Finally Tanin woke Dougan for his watch, and settled back down into sleep.

Dougan woke both of them when light began to filter down through the trees. Raistlin blinked his eyes, carefully sat up and climbed down out of the tree. Tanin and Dougan joined him on the ground. Raistlin knelt, one hand in one the ground, the Staff of Magius resting on the other shoulder. He closed his eyes for a moment.

He tried to filter through the most of the chaotic and treacherous swirls of energy, then picked up on the worst of it. Once he had the direction firmly in his mind again, he set off in the same direction that they had been going. Tanin used his sword to hack through the worst of the undergrowth, and Dougan used a large knife, his warhammer not of any use.

Finally, they came to drier footing, then the trees thinned and then they stood in a clearing. In the clearing was a small village, and in the distance they could see a moss and vine ridden Tower. Raistlin murmured, "Another day journey. But it is there."

Men with wickedly pointed spears then confronted them, and one asked in a near unintelligible speech. Tanin gathered by the tone that it was, "What are you doing here?"

Or, alternatively, "Turn back or die."

Either way, Tanin moved closer to his Uncle. His Uncle, his eyes closed again, answered him in the same language. In surprise, to both Tanin and Dougan, a short conversation later, and the leader said, "I speak your common tongue. It was taught by Lord Gargath when he came to the Isle years ago."

"That makes it easier," answered Raistlin. "Is that his Tower?"

"Yes, Guardian," answered the lead warrior. "However... he has guards."

Raistlin nodded, "That's to be expected."

They looked around as the leader of the village led them to a simple hut. Tanin frowned as he saw men, and children, but no women. He wondered at this, but said nothing as he was led into the hut. As they sat in a circle around the circumference of the hut, Raistlin asked, "I see men and children, but no women. What happened to them?"

"Lord Gargath sent for them as 'tribute' two years ago. We have not seen them since and worry for our wives and daughters. All girls are taken when they reach puberty," answered the tribal leader.

Raistlin sighed. "That will be dealt with. All we ask is for one day to rest and prepare, then we will see to the Tower of Gargath."

* * *

Caramon Majere read the missive from the Knights of Solamnia in Palanthas twice. Tika came over and asked, as she saw his pale face, "What is it?"

Caramon read the letter,

_With respect, Caramon and Tika Majere._

_During a stay over in Thonvil on the Northern Isle of Ergoth, your three sons, Tanin, Sturm and Palin, went missing. They were last seen in a tavern named 'Red Wizard's Folly'. Lady Crysania suspected that they were unwillingly taken from said tavern. Their locations are currently unknown._

_We regret to inform you that unless otherwise proven, we will assume them missing in action._

_Respectfully,_

_Grand Master Gunther Uth Wistan_

Tika sat down heavily and put her head in her hands. "Missing?"

Caramon was in the same state of disbelief. To have all three simply disappear was, to say the least, mind numbing. He pressed his lips into a pale and thin line. "I'll contact Tanis. We'll find them. It said missing, not dead. Surely not dead," he whispered the last part in horror. "They would know..."

* * *

The next morning, the three set out for Gargath Isle with a small escort of a band of warriors from the village. The jungle was not as dense, and a path was even beaten and cut to it. Instead of taking the day that Raistlin thought it would, it took two hours. The men, of course, refused to go any further than the clearing around the Tower.

Raistlin walked up to the simple door and pushed on it. He nearly recoiled from the feel of chaos from it. The door swung open and the three, Tanin, Dougan, and Raistlin, walked in. Raistlin crinkled his nose at the musty smell within. "No one has been through here in ages," said Raistlin.

It took an hour to check the first level of the Tower before climbing the stairs to the next. As soon as they pushed on the door to enter, Raistlin was confronted by a spear wielding woman as she held the metal point to his throat. He hissed at Dougan as another woman pulled him inside, "I thought you said they only had primitive weaponry!"

Dougan and Tanin were pulled in short moment later. Tanin had to stare in bemusement at his Uncle, even given the serious threat of death. The other woman had pulled him down to her couch and was running her fingers through his hair while a few others held him a spear point to make sure he didn't do anything threatening. The eldest of them all said, "Two handsome men, one looks like he's intelligent, and the other isn't bad either. But what to do with the dwarf?"

Tanin had as many spears held to him as his Uncle and Dougan. Raistlin pulled himself away, and demanded, "Are you the women from the village just East of here?"

"Yes, but we're not going back to a life of drudgery," retorted the eldest. "For generations we did all the washing, the cooking, and the raising of children. Let the men do that now. We have better things to do."

"Where is Lord Gargath?" asked Tanin in confusion.

A dismissive wave of her hand was the answer, "Up at the top of the tower with his precious gem. Haven't seen him in a few years."

The three looked at each other. "So, let me get this straight," began Raistlin thoughtfully. "Lord Gargath decreed that all women be sent to the Tower two years ago. But, you haven't seen him in about the same amount of time... but the decree is still in place... so... who's in charge of the Tower?"

"Oh, we are. We sent him up there. Boring old man..." she said, with a pout. "You, though, seem much more interesting."

"Well, yes, I can imagine why," answered Raistlin dryly. "I need to go to the top of the Tower, ladies."

They backed back out the room and Raistlin looked at Dougan, "'Just a simple mission'?"

Dougan shrugged.

* * *

Sturm was wakened by a sound in his room, and he grasped his sword, opening his eyes and bringing it level with the neck of a black robe sitting on the edge of the bed. Her eyes were widened in surprise at the suddenness. "Sorry," he said. "You surprised me."

"I surprised you?" she asked a bit archly, then softened a bit. "I can see my room mate was right, you are handsome."

"Thanks, I think," he said as he re-sheathed his bastard sword. "Why are you in here, anyway?"

"I came to see if the nephew of Raistlin was as rumored to be. Although I can't honestly say I have ever met a Majere before to say if there is a resemblance, I can hear the slight Abanasinian accent," she said. "Forgive me, my name is Yeris, I'm from Haven. And rumor has it that you're from Solace."

His eyes widened at the mention of meeting someone from close to home. "Yes, I am. We own the Inn of the Last Home. My name is Sturm."

Her eyes brightened. "It's a pleasure to meet you Sturm," she said as she held out her hand to shake his.

He took it and they shook hands. "I'm sorry I startled you."

"It's all right, I should have expected some measure of curiosity. I'm guessing you don't get many guests from my order," he said. "I would guess I would cause some talk."

"Oh, you have," she laughed.

They fell into a companionable silence, then she said. "I would have thought I would been able to sneak in here, see you, then sneak out. But you woke so quickly."

Sturm blushed, "I... I haven't been sleeping very well."

She lifted a brow, "Oh?"

"Well, at home, we don't have this much space," he admitted. "And I used to share a room with my brothers."

"Perhaps I can help?" she suggested smoothly, then put her hands up in a negating gesture at his wide eyes. "No, I wouldn't use my magic. I was suggesting a more... mutual... arrangement."

She closed the gap between them to kiss him lightly on the lips. Sturm didn't respond and she pulled back, with a half smile on her face, "What is wrong? Can't have relations with a Black Robe?"

"No, my lady!" he cried out. "I would bed you in a second, however my vows would be violated if I did... I must wait until I marry."

She smiled, "But you would bed me?"

"Oh, aye, you're a attractive, pretty, lovely woman with beautiful eyes," he looked down. "But I can't."

She patted his hand right before she stood to leave, "I understand. And I can respect that. I bid you good night."

Sturm watched her leave and leaned back in the pillows again. "Sweet Paladine..."

* * *

_A/N_: Yes, Yeris is a bitch. That will be shown in later chapters. 


	6. The Scales of Balance

_A/N_: This will end the "Wanna Bet" arc, but this isn't the end of the story. There are a few chapters after this encompassing the "Summer of Chaos".

Can we say the words: Raistlin's little secret is out...

* * *

Chapter Five:  
The Scales of Balance

* * *

Raistlin, Tanin and Dougan paused outside of the door. Raistlin was visibly gritting his teeth, and Dougan asked, "It's there, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Well, let's get this over with," Dougan opened the door.

Tanin wasn't sure what he was expecting, but what he saw was definitely not it. Even Raistlin creased his brows in obvious surprise, then they looked at each other and smiled. In the center of the room set upon a stone pedestal was the greygem. It was a gem that not only constantly changed its shape and size, but also the amount of its facets, as if it could not stay in one constant form.

The three of them walked into the room. "Who's there?" croaked a voice.

Raistlin turned to the voice, "I am the Guardian of the Greater Balance. What has gone on here?"

"The Greygem cursed me!" exclaimed the voice, now a strange trilling sound.

The form shuffled over and the three men had to look in disbelief and horror at what they saw. If the Greygem could not hold its shape, it at least remained a gem. This... thing... could not hold definite shape, nor a size, and constantly changed its form. In one horrible moment, Raistlin realized that this was Lord Gargath.

* * *

Caramon packed his things and saddled the horse while Tika watched. She handed him the package of trail bread and he kissed her. "You will write?" she asked.

"Of course," he said. "And I'll bring them back to us."

He then mounted the horse, adjusted his sword belt and rode off from Solace, headed for Solanthus where his friend Tanis Half-Elven resided with his wife Laurana and their son Gilthas.

* * *

The three companions from the Miracle looked at Lord Gargath in shock. "What happened to you?" asked Tanin.

"As I said, I was cursed by the Greygem," his form shifted again, this time to a centaur. "Now, as it has a chaotic nature, I cannot even... oh, take this curse from me!"

Raistlin stepped towards the gem and it pulsed. In response, Raistlin's skin changed to the golden color. He heard Gargath hiss in surprise, as he was now a feline, "You're not a White Robe at all! You're Raistlin Majere!"

"I am the Guardian," stated Raistlin evenly.

He turned in surprise as the door opened, and the women from downstairs piled in, now dressed in their culture's warrior dress and fully armed. With a frown, Raistlin turned to face them. The leader, the eldest woman that had taken a liking to Raistlin, said, "Step away Dark Wizard."

"No."

They advanced, but Dougan jumped in, "Now, now. You're being called by the Greygem. Don't let it affect you."

"And why should we?" asked the woman. "If you take it we have to go back to our former lives."

"Then let me make a wager," Dougan pointed to Raistlin. "I bet that this wizard can throw my warhammer so that it does not hit the ground."

The woman looked at Raistlin, "No magic?"

"Without magic," agreed Dougan. "Now, if Raistlin here can do it, you go have to go back to your village and work things out with your men."

"And if he doesn't?" asked the woman looking Raistlin up and down. "If he doesn't we get to _keep_ him."

Raistlin jumped in at this point, "Ah, Dougan..."

"Agreed!" and Dougan shook her hand, the deal sealed.

Raistlin and Tanin looked at each other, a little more than worried. Raistlin, for his part, was getting seriously disgusted with being pulled into bets by Dougan. Tanin was more worried about being stuck on Gargath Isle for the rest of his life. Dougan pulled Raistlin aside, "Now, here is what I want you to do..."

"...How could you get me involved in _another_ stupid bet?" snarled Raistlin.

"We can't lose?" retorted Dougan. "I want you to start here and take three steps and throw. Trust me, my boy, you won't be stuck here."

"I had better not be!" was Raistlin's sharp reply.

Raistlin rubbed his hands and picked up the warhammer with both hands, grunting with the effort it took to even lift the bloody thing. Taking one step, then spinning it to use the momentum of the hammer in the throw, he took two more steps and when the hammer was at the lowest point let it go.

It arced up in the air and Raistlin bent over to catch his breath from the exertion. He looked up and watched as it spun through the air.

Even he could see that it wasn't going to land on the floor at all given how he had thrown it.

For a moment, the Greygem shrank as if sensing the blow to come. The hammer arced down and the impact of the hammer on the Greygem was enough to send both flying into Dougan's hands. With a smile and flourish he brandished both, "Well, ladies, I guess it is back to your village for you!"

A small groan escaped the leader's lips and she pinched Raistlin's bottom. He stood straight up and glared at her, but she only smiled. "Too bad, you might have liked being my love slave!"

With that the women left. Raistlin walked over to Gargath, who had, when the Greygem had landed safely back in Dougan's hands, had changed back to normal. "I trust you learned your lesson when it comes to powerful artifacts?"

"Oh yes," said Gargath as he stood. "Thank you for freeing me!"

Raistlin nodded, clapped Tanin on the shoulder and said, "Come on, let's get out of here."

* * *

A few days later, they stood on the beach as the gnomes paddled the landing boat to the beach to pick them up. Dougan, Tanin, and Raistlin boarded the dinghy and went back to the Miracle. Raistlin, with a sigh, headed back to their shared quarters and climbed into bed. Tanin did the same after bathing.

Raistlin remained awake, listening to his nephew's snore. It had taken almost a full week to finish the Gargath mission and he was tired. The slow return to Palanthas, which was where Dougan swore the Miracle was headed next, would serve as a time for Raistlin to rest and recover his lost spells. Granted, not that he had needed any in the end, but the trip in and out tended to wear even the best memorization.

With that, he joined his nephew in sleep.

* * *

Caramon allowed the stabler to take his horse as he boarded the ship that would take him across the short jaunt (comparably to other journeys, anyway) across the Straits of Schallsea. It was a two day journey in itself, if one ignored the four days it had taken to get to Crossing.

Two days later, he was in Solanthus. (Which, unbeknownst to him, was the same day that Tanin and Raistlin had re-boarded the Miracle and on their way back...)

He knocked on his friend's door and a human servant opened the door, "How may I help you?"

"I need to talk to Tanis," said Caramon urgently. "Tell him that it's about the Majeres."

The door closed in his face, but a few moments later the door opened to Tanis' anxious face, "Did you say... Caramon! What a surprise! What's wrong?"

Trust Tanis, even though surprised, to be able to tell at a moment's glance that something was very wrong. He ushered Caramon into the foyer of his home and said to the servant, "We'll be fine."

The servant nodded and walked away. Tanis led Caramon into a study and leaned on his desk, "What's wrong?"

Caramon handed him Uth Wistan's note. As Tanis read it, his hands went to his mouth, "Missing?"

"Yes, missing. I need your help. We have to find them," cried Caramon. "Tika was beside herself with worry."

Tanis nodded his agreement, his face growing serious, "Of course I'll help you. So, according to this we start in Thonvil?"

"I was thinking Palanthas..."

* * *

Sturm had been in the Tower for three weeks and no sign of either Tanin or Raistlin. Dalamar had assured them that if either had died, they would have known by now. Even still, it was a difficult task to simply wait. Using a little bit of money, and the charming Yeris or Meilena for company, he had gone shopping for some clothing that was a bit more suitable for wearing around Palanthas.

In so doing, he saw Crysania in the marketplace, "Lady Crysania!"

He saw the two wizards hang back, and knowing that their beliefs were different than Crysania's, he bid them farewell and agreed to meet later at Mistress Jenna's shop.

Crysania's brows knit at his approach, "Your voice is familiar..."

"It's Sturm Majere, Revered Daughter," and he bowed, even though he knew she could not see him.

The relief was plain on her face, "Paladine be praised! I was so worried when I had heard that you had been kidnapped..."

She leaned close, "Where is Palin and Tanin?"

"Uh... I haven't seen them in three weeks," he admitted. "Palin thought it would be better to only have two..."

"Oh, then you know as well," she said. "I am deeply grieved to have heard about the passing of your brother, Sturm. So, you were left behind?"

The unspoken question was, of course, Then where were you staying the entire time? Sturm answered both, "Yeah, Uncle Raistlin left me as his guest in his Tower. Oh, but it's not so bad. I get to stay in his rooms and I'm treated like a prince. Granted, I would like to know when they're coming back..."

Crysania nodded in sympathy when another voice, this one relieved, was heard, "Sturm! Thank all the Gods in Krynn!"

Crysania and Sturm turned, and Sturm was very happy, and also ironically very alarmed, to see his father and Tanis run up to them. Caramon picked his second eldest son up in a heartfelt hug. "I'm so relieved!" he cried into his son's hair. "Where are Palin and Tanin?"

"Uh..." Sturm was not sure what to say.

Raistlin had told him not to say anything, but how could he explain how he had gotten to the Tower? Crysania, thankfully, supplied the answer, "Dalamar scryed him, teleported him. He did not have the strength to teleport the other two, however. But he assured me that they are safe. Sturm has been staying in the Tower of High Sorcery for the past three weeks. I only just saw him today, isn't that right, Sturm?"

"Oh... yes..." agreed Sturm lamely.

Tanis' eyes knit. "He's been staying where?"

Then two women wizards came running up, and the one in red robes said, "Oh, there you are, Sturm. We've been looking all over for you. You were supposed to meet us... oh... hello..."

Sturm blushed deeply, "Father, Tanis, Crysania, this is Meilena of the Order of Red Robes, she from Valkinord, and Yeris of the Order of Black Robes, from Haven. Meilena, Yeris, this is my father Caramon Majere, and his best friend Tanis Half-Elven, and Revered Daughter Crysania."

The two wizards bowed slightly, and Yeris said politely, "How do you do?"

The two men looked at her, then at each other. Tanis, who gained his speech a bit quicker, "We are well, and you, fair Wizard?"

"We are as well," answered Meilena. "Ah, Dalamar is expecting us at the Tower..."

She trailed off as she saw another that was quite obviously related to Sturm, and the thin man with the Staff of the Magius. Her mind went blank for a moment, and the others turned to regard the two approaching young men. Caramon seemed to breathe easier, and he cried out, "Oh, my sons, I was so worried when you were assumed missing in action."

He enveloped them both in a hug, first giving his eldest son a kiss on the cheek, then his third son. He released them and they walked back to stand in the group. Tanis had to stare a little at Palin. He could not put his finger on it, but there just was not something quite right with Palin. He watched as Palin smiled and even hugged his father back, then watched as they milled about.

Of course, Meilena had finally found her voice, "Sirs... Dalamar is likely..."

Palin whipped around to regard Meilena, and Tanis, with an eerie sense of deja vu, watched as he said in a quiet voice, "Give Dalamar our regards, but we must be going."

The tone left no room for argument and Tanis suddenly placed it, but his mind screamed in denial. He had seen Raistlin die. There just was no way that it was... Then their eyes locked, and Tanis knew the truth. For a moment he was stuck speechless. Raistlin was not only without the curse of the hourglass eyes, but also looked normal. He was as powerful as he had been when he had died... but somehow sadder as well.

Not to mention that he actually let himself be hugged and even hugged back. He blinked in surprise. "Ah..." he began and the Majere's all looked at him. "Can we discuss something in private?"

* * *

Tanis paced Crysania's study as he sought to make sense of it. Caramon watched, as did 'Palin'... no... god dammit, it was Raistlin. But for how long...? Finally he stopped and glared at Raistlin, who had the grace to pale and look away. "How could you do it?" he demanded of Crysania, never taking his eyes from Raistlin. "'Dalamar scryed Sturm', my ass, respectfully, of course, Revered Daughter."

"It's not her fault..." began Raistlin.

"Oh, how we can change, right?" Tanis turned on Raistlin.

Caramon stood up and said, "What is going on?"

"Caramon, would you look closely at 'Palin' and tell me what you see, what you honestly see?" Tanis stressed the name, as if it was not the real name.

Caramon was not a stupid man. He tended to think things through more, and therefore gave off the impression of being a touch slow, but given the right push, he tended to figure things out. He stared at Raistlin, then gasped, "_BY ALL THE GODS?!_ Raist? Is... is it really you?"

Raistlin sighed and said, "Yes. It's really me... I couldn't tell you."

"Why?" demanded Tanis and Caramon at the same time.

"Would you believe that _I_ did not have the heart to? And quite frankly, I still don't, but now I guess I must," Raistlin got up and looked out the window. "Caramon... oh... my brother..."

Raistlin looked down, the regret etched into the lines on his face. "I'm sorry I failed you."

This admission was like a bucket of ice water being dumped on both Tanis and Caramon. "Raist..."

"Caramon... Palin died during his Test. I was not fast enough to save him when the Dark Queen interfered. And for that I am deeply sorry," he turned back and watched Caramon sink into the chair heavily. "But, just so you know, never once did he beg for his life nor did he compromise his beliefs in good. You would have been so proud of him... I know I was."

The last part was so quiet that even Tanis with his hearing had almost not heard it. The mood in the room quickly dropped, and Caramon asked, "So it was you the entire time. You, who Tika and I put to bed that night. You we nursed back to health after the bandit attack. You... oh... I should have known when you cast _Meteor Swarm_."

"You saw not only what you wanted to see, but also what I wanted you to see," said Raistlin gently. "This time, however, instead of using you, I was trying to spare you the pain of grief. If I was wrong, I am deeply sorry."

Tanis decided to stay on the sidelines of this. So far, after finding out he was Raistlin, Tanis had been surprised to see the old Raistlin... the Raistlin before the Test. While he had always been quiet, before the Test he had been more humane, more compassionate. This was the side Tanis was seeing again.

And he was really glad to see it. A part of him missed the quiet, introspective, but highly intelligent planner of their group. Raistlin looked up at Tanis. "I am sorry for what I have done to you as well, old friend."

"Well, we have you back now," said Tanis. "And that's what matters. If its any consolation, if you don't feel comfortable at your Tower anymore, we have a spare bedroom in Solanthus."

"Thank you Tanis, but that won't be necessary," Raistlin said as he looked over to his brother. "I know where my home is."

Caramon's eyes widened and he smiled, while still grieving for his son, he now could celebrate his brother's new lease on life.

* * *

The two brothers and the Uncle sat mounted on horses on one fork in the road. Caramon and Tanis sat at the other. With one final wave they split company, Raistlin and his nephew's heading first for Vingaard, then for Kalaman. Tanis and Caramon headed back to Solanthus where Caramon would then depart for Solace again.

Caramon was not really sure what he would tell Tika. He didn't want the truth to be hidden anymore, but also dreaded telling her the horrible truth of what truly happened to Palin. Tika had always blamed Raistlin for Caramon's fall to dwarf spirits, and with her temper she would probably hunt Raist down...

* * *

_Next Chapter_ - Part Two - The Summer of Chaos 


	7. PART TWO: Summer of Chaos

_A/N_: Reference for this chapter in regards to the Irda and Mischta can be found in the game accessory _Otherlands_ (printed by TSR in 1990, ISBN # 0-88038-829-3). Alternatively, Wizards of the Coast are giving it away as a free full color PDF download (go figure...)

Also, I have decided to get the show on the road, lol ;) No more boring chapters because too much is going to happen. Enjoy the ride, it's about to get _bumpy_...

* * *

PART TWO: THE SUMMER OF CHAOS

* * *

Chapter Six:  
Children of the Irda

* * *

Raistlin had stripped off his cloak and was riding in his leather armor and the light linen tunic beneath it. Looking over at his nephews Tanin and Sturm, he saw that they were not doing much better in the heat. He smiled and pulled his horse up short to halt it, "Now you know why I like not having to wear armor, eh?"

Tanin gave him a sour look, and answered as he hopped off his horse and walked to the Vingaard River, which they were following to where it ran to the sea. He then washed himself in the cool water until the metal was not so hot. Sturm, seeing that Tanin was then cooled off, did the same. After a moments thought, and after shielding his eyes to see how long it would be until the sun set, Raistlin, too got off his horse and filled his waterskin. The two younger men watched as he took one of his clean square rags, rolled it into strip, soaked it, then tied that on his head to make a headband to hold back his hair and cool his brow.

A few minutes later, they did the same. "That was a brilliant idea, Uncle Raistlin," pointed out Tanin.

Raistlin shrugged, "I try."

* * *

Far to the North, more North than Gargath Isle even, a ship anchored just off a beach. It dared not go any closer for fear of running aground. After a short time a smaller boat, a landing craft, dropped into the water. Armored men climbed into it. A half an hour later, it landed on the beach.

The blue skinned warriors were known only as brutes, and the armored men and women honestly did not know a better name to call them, so left it as it was. These brutes moved onto the quiet isle while those in armor waited and sweated in the heat that seemed to radiate off the sand.

Just as the sun was setting, the Brutes came back with a dirty, wriggling form. The lead armored knight asked, "What is this?"

"The only natives on the island," answered the leader of the Brutes as he dumped it unceremoniously on the ground.

The Knight of Takhisis looked from the dirty creature that barely qualified as humanoid, but was too passive for anything created by his Dark Queen, to the Brute. The Brute only shrugged his indifference, "You can put an outpost here if you want but I don't see the point."

The Dark Knight harumphed, and, shaking his sword as the creature curiously put a hand on it, watching as it recoiled in terror, said, "Neither do I, but that decision is out of my hands. Whatever the Dark Queen wills, we shall do."

He made a motion, "Back to the ship. I will make my report when we reach port. Make a note on this isle, no worthwhile life to be seen. No point in putting an outpost here. Too remote."

They left, a few laughing, and soon the ship left in the dying sunlight.

The pathetic wriggling creature stood straight, shedding the disguise in vague disdain, and silently watched as others came out of hiding. These others were far from pathetic, and like the one almost dragged off by the Dark Knights, was dressed in simple linen and silk tunics and robes. "'No point in an outpost', Protector?"

"That is, I believe, what he said, Decider," said the one that had been closest to the Knights, one called by all the Protector, the closest thing on the island to a warrior.

"You would think the ruins would have attracted some attention," although there was relief in her voice, there was also a vague amount of amusement.

"The 'Brutes' have no care of stone ruins," pointed out the Protector. "However, had they actually sent a Knight, they would have seen. There would have been curiosity."

The three walked back to the hidden village, where life among the Irda was slowly returning back to normal after the close call. When evening fell, a rare gathering of the Irda was called. The eldest of all the leading families met under one roof in the sight of their God, the ones the humans called Mishakel. The Decider, who in a way was king of the Irda, a descendent of Igrane, walked to the dias and said, "Today, outsiders landed on our Isle. We call this Council of the Families to decide on our course of action."

"So, what now?" asked Protector. "We are fairly sure that they will not come back, but there is always that chance that they may."

The Irda, or as this particular descendant was actually called the Mischta as during the Cataclysm their Isle had been rent in two and the original Irda had been lost. Well, the Mischta were also Irda, but the story of them was a sad one, and dated back to the Cataclysm that all but the very youngest could not remember.

Except for one that was absent.

While the Mischta debated what to do, this one had crept just into hearing range. The prospect of outsiders, while it frightened her, also drew her. She was, after all, a sort of outsider herself. If she had any Mischta blood in her at all, it was diluted with the human. When the gathering grew quiet again, she crept back to the home she shared with her adoptive father, the Protector.

He walked in, his lips compressed into a thin pale blue line and ran a hand through his thick black hair. "What is it?" she asked.

"Usha..." he said, and shook himself out of the reverie that he had found himself in. "The Council has decided that we have to find a way to insure that the island is never found, much like the way it was before the Rending."

She tipped her head to the side, "The Rending? Hide the Isle? How?"

"It will all be in a letter I am sending you to take to Dalamar of Palanthas," he said. "Unfortunately, we need all the magic we can get, and you are just not powerful enough."

Usha stared at him in disbelief. Leave? He wanted her to leave? No! This was her home, as much as he, how could he ask such a thing of her. But he was looking at her with something else... hope. She recalled how he was sending her with a letter. She nodded bravely, "I will carry your message to Dalamar."

For a moment, Protector seemed surprised. He had expected a temper tantrum like the ones she had always thrown when things did not go her way. This was rather unexpected, then she held up her hand, "But not because I want to. Because, even if I don't have magic like you, you have entrusted me with a responsibility. You could have sent one of the others, and they would have gone and been back by now."

He nodded and they began to pack her things.

* * *

Tanin and Sturm were hot. The Vingaard dunkings, as the little ritual every so often didn't seem to be enough. It had taken weeks of travel by horse to finally arrive in the sight of Kalaman. It was at this point that Tanin, with a sinking sensation in his stomach watched Raistlin look up once, then go boneless as he slid off the horse he was riding in a faint from the heat.

Tanin pulled his horse up short, and called out, "Sturm, stop!"

Sturm, who had been leading, and therefore ahead of Tanin and Raistlin, turned the horse around and cantered back. He slid off his horse and quickly took charge of the horses before the nervous feeling they would sense off Tanin could spook them. Tanin rolled his Uncle over and his uncle murmured something a bit too unintelligible for either to pick up. He rolled his pale blue eyes to both of them, then his eyelids slid shut and he abruptly relaxed as he passed completely out.

"Shit," swore Sturm. "Now what?"

"We're within sight of Kalaman," said Tanin. "Give me his waterskin."

Sturm grabbed it, opened it, then said quietly, "It's dry."

Tanin picked up his Uncle and loaded him on his own horse before climbing up behind him. "It's too far to go back to the Vingaard now, we'll have to ride on."

Sturm climbed on his own horse and tied off the reins to Raistlin's horse. Tanin coaxed his already tired mount into a quick canter, and Sturm followed. Tanin had to support his Uncle the entire ride and around noon when the sun began to truly scorch, his horse gave up under the added weight. Dismounting, Sturm's practiced eye told him, "You can't ride him. He'll be all right though."

Tanin mounted Raistlin's nervous black stallion and Sturm passed Raistlin up to Tanin, "I'll ride ahead on Darkmist, you follow behind at what pace you can manage."

Sturm nodded, and Tanin, not realizing that Darkmist hardly required any prodding at all, gave him a nudge like he would have other Solamnic horses.

He had to hold on for dear life as Darkmist perked right up and began to gallop at a breakneck speed. After a moment (and after he got used to the speed...) Tanin relaxed into the ride. Perhaps it was then he realized that Darkmist didn't run like normal Solamnic horses at all. The landscape was practically a blur, and instead of another half day ride like he had thought it might be, they arrived in just a little over an hour.

Gently, he gave a tug on the reins to slow the archmage's horse to a gentle canter as they came up to the city gates of Kalaman. The gates were open and he rode in, and stopped when a city guard stopped him. Darkmist stomped an impatient hoof as if knowing the urgency of the situation. Tanin introduced himself, "I am Tanin Majere, Knight of the Crown. My brother collapsed in the heat..."

"Is this your brother?"

"Yes, the one that collapsed," said Tanin. "I have another brother, a Knight as well, who is riding at a more relaxed pace about a half day ride behind."

"This one's a wizard..." the guard looked up at Tanin in suspicion.

"He's also a Knight Auxiliary," pointed out Tanin.

"Very well, we'll tend to him," the guard took Raistlin from Tanin and lay him on a cot inside a cool room.

Fresh water for the horse was brought and Darkmist was cooled down and brushed before being allowed in the stables. The stabler came out and said, "Fine beast. Hardly sweating for as hard as you rode him. I watched him come in. Fastest horse I ever saw..."

Tanin nodded with half an ear as the healer tended to the heat exhausted Raistlin. He stood up, and said, "He'll be all right. The heat got to him, as well as lack of water. He should rest for a day or so, just to get himself right again."

Again, Tanin found himself nodding in agreement as the healer listed off his treatment for Raistlin.

* * *

Protector stood in the circle as the Decider took a tooled hammer and chisel. Setting the chisel, the Decider took the hammer and in one blow cracked open the Greygem...

* * *

A small boat, too graceful of a make for human hands glided into the Palanthas harbor just as an unearthly red light began to glow in the North East. The Minotaurs saw this light, took note of it, then went back to their planning of conquest.

One person on this isle, however, did take notice.

And her blood and the blood that ran in her veins turned a sudden chill as she whispered one word in complete and utter horror, "Chaos..."

* * *

Tanin watched in horror as the Knights turned in shock as Raistlin arched in agony on the bed, words in a different language than even magic on his lips. It sounded like warning cries, of death throes. The healer turned his full attention back to him as Raistlin began to convulse in seizures. Tanin helped hold him down as the healer tried everything to stop him from convulsing and thrashing on the bed.

Tanin, while holding his Uncle's arm down, noticed something. The simplest ring on Raistlin's finger burned with a blue fire as the stone practically seemed to pulsate and the power streaming from it was causing the veins in Raistlin's arms to glow and pulsate in time with the ring.

The healer saw it, and said, "Get it off of him. It's likely what causing the seizures."

Tanin put one hand on the ring to pull it from Raistlin's finger, but was surprised when his sight was no longer of the little room in which they fought for his Uncle's life and well being. If anything, it was of a blasted isle where a fire giant rampaged, and two halves of the...

... Oh no. He wasn't seeing _that_.

The two halves of the Greygem. Tanin gasped and was suddenly in the room again. The healer had recoiled in horror, and seemed to be in the midst of retreat. When Tanin looked down, he could see why. His uncle's skin was the legendary molten gold color and his silver white hair was wild as he tangled it more with each spasm that wracked his whole being, as if his very soul was being ripped out of his body. His eyes were rolled up in his head, but the small slits of what he could see of the irises were also gold.

Finally he uncle sat bolt upright and screamed. Tanin clamped his hands over his ears, as did the healer. With that one scream, he went lax and collapsed into the bed, his breaths deep, but labored as if he had just ran a race. The gold color faded, then disappeared, and everything was as it had been before his fit.

The healer looked at Tanin, "He's not your brother at all, is he? You lied to us! That's that Black Robe... That's Raistlin Majere!"

Tanin nodded numbly, "I would appreciate it if you kept this to yourself. Patient and healer confidentiality?"

The healer seemed to have a stubborn set to his jaw, then relaxed it in resignation. "Fine. On your Father's sake, I won't say anything. But I won't help you anymore if it concerns him. As far as I'm concerned, the minute I walk out of the door, I'm done with him for good."

"Fine," agreed Tanin. "As long as you don't say anything."

"Agreed."

With that the healer turned on his heal and left the room. The guard came in and asked in a low voice, "We heard an unholy scream, what happened?"

"My brother had a seizure, a bad one. The heat did more damage than we thought," answered Tanin in concern.

The guard made a sympathetic rumble in his throat, "You will need a place to stay, there is an inn in town. I made arrangements for the night for you."

"Thank you," said Tanin. "My other brother?"

"When he arrives, we shall notify him of where you are staying," said the guard, then saluted. "Paladine be with you."

"And with you," saluted Tanin in return.

He then picked up his Uncle and, finding Darkmist, again loaded his Uncle on the remarkable horse and led it to the Cornahir Inn. As was about to take his Uncle off the horse, Raistlin sat up a bit and blinked his eyes in surprise. "Where're we?" his voice was soft, just barely above a whisper, and very tired sounding.

"We're in Kalaman, Uncle," answered Tanin. "You, ah, had a fit and you and I had to ride ahead to get you treated. We're outside of an inn where you will rest the night and recover from the fit."

"I had... a fit...?" Raistlin seemed to have a difficult time focusing as Tanin helped him down and walk into the Inn.

A boy walked Darkmist into the Inn's stable after Tanin handed him a silver piece. He pushed open the door and helped Raistlin to a plush chair. The innkeeper came out and caught sight of them. "Tanin Majere, Palin Majere?"

"Yes," answered Tanin.

"Here are your keys, good sirs," said the innkeeper as he handed Tanin keys and led them up to the first room.

Tanin helped Raistlin, almost carrying him as his uncle stumbled and half staggered to the bed. When his uncle was lying down and comfortable, Tanin was shown to his own room where there was two beds. "We figured the wizard would like some peace to study," said the innkeeper with a shrug. "This will accommodate your other brother and you."

"Ah, yes, thank you," said Tanin, effectively dismissing the man as he walked into the room where his uncle was already asleep.

He pulled his uncles boots off his feet and otherwise made sure that his uncle was comfortable before pulling up the covers of the bed and covering up his uncle under them.

* * *

When Sturm finally managed to get to the gates of Kalaman, the sun was beginning to set, although a bright glow in the north west was strange. He rode up to the gates and yelled out, "My name is Sturm Majere, Knight of the Crown."

"Well met, Knight Majere," called out another man. "What business do you have in Kalaman?"

"We were sent by our superior officers to Kalaman," answered Sturm. "I am about half a day behind another set of riders, these being my brothers, one also a Knight by the name of Tanin Majere. Have they made it?"

"Aye, they have," the gate began to open and when Sturm was able to ride in and meet the person he was able to talk to over the gate, he slid off his horse and shook the man's hand as he finished. "Your younger brother, I believe, the wizard? He took a fit. He recovered, but he needed rest. He and your brother we sent to the Cornahir Inn. You are about four hours behind them."

Sturm nodded, then said, "Thank you, I would stay and exchange news but I am rather worried about my brother."

"Oh, of course, of course," said the guard. "Paladine be with you, Knight."

"And with you," said Sturm before he rode off.

A short while later he too paid the stable boy a silver each for the horses, then entered the inn. The innkeeper came out and asked, "How may I help you?"

"My name is Sturm Majere, Knight of the Crown," answered Sturm, holding out his hand to shake the innkeepers.

The innkeeper accepted his hand warmly and answered, "Your brothers have been waiting for you. Second room on the right."

"Thank you."

Sturm walked up the stairs and to the second room on the right and walked in. Tanin looked up from the small desk and Sturm asked, "I was told at the gate that Uncle Raistlin 'had a fit'. What did they mean by that?"

"They mean exactly that," said Tanin gravely. "The heat nearly killed him. He went into convulsions when we arrived. He's resting now, we believe he'll be all right."

Sturm looked over in the next room as the two rooms were connected by a single door. "Good," said Sturm wholeheartedly. "When I heard that he had a fit, I was scared that the next news would be that he was dead, this time for good."

"He's tougher than everyone gives him credit for," pointed out Tanin. "You want to know the really weird thing, though?"

"What?" asked Sturm curiously.

"He turned golden skinned in the midst of the attack, and in a language I have never heard before cried... something... out. It could have been warnings, or even complete gibberish," recalled Tanin. "Then he screamed like his soul was on fire, then simply collapsed into what we see now."

Sturm ran his hand down his face. "Strange."

* * *


	8. The Burden and the Gift of the Gods

_A/N_: As for Usha, I include only short little snippets until she meets someone (like, as in our little trio of Majere's, lol) only so we all know where she is and that she exists in this story. I wasn't a really, really big fan of Usha (I consider her a canon-Sue, as in a Mary-Sue created in canon, but little more than that. Unfortunately for the story we kinda need her...) I promise not to be too mean to her, lol ;)

* * *

Chapter Seven:

The Burden & The Gift of Gods

* * *

Usha woke as her own little boat bumped against the city's dock. Blinking her eyes in vague confusion, she looked around before getting out of the little boat and standing on the dock. A human man, not extremely well washed so she therefore naturally wrinkled her nose at his smell, came up to her and asked, "That will be three steel."

"Steel?"

"Yeah, the docking fee, little miss," he said, pointing to her boat.

Usha dug around in her pouches, then found a small token and handed it to him, "I think that is fair trade."

His eyes bugged out a little, "Oh yes. And I'll be sure to make sure she's well taken care of too. When you need to dock here, consider this your slip. All I need is your name."

"I am called Usha of Selesia," she answered before gracefully stepping around him and into the city.

* * *

Raistlin woke in the mid-afternoon and sat up, noticing as he did so the residual muscle soreness, especially in his back when he arched it in a bit of an unnatural angle. He had a sneaky suspicion that Tanin had rather hoped he would have forgotten the entire thing, but unfortunately, Raistlin remembered every little painful detail of the seizure, as well as _why_ he had one in the first place.

He stood, then waited for a wave of dizziness to subside. The busy activity outside today was much more than he was used to for a background noise level, and he found it annoying so he walked over and closed the shutters. After the dark descended he allowed himself a little sigh of relief. He had a particularly painful headache and found that too much light and too much noise too much to handle.

Using his Staff, he walked over to a chair and sat down in one before the fire, pulling his robes tight around him against a chill that resided more in his soul, his very being, than of actual coolness. Oh, he was far from cool, in fact, had he not fainted from the Sight, he might have collapsed from the heat, and he was still uncomfortably warm in that sense.

"Chaos," he whispered. "Fools!"

Standing and looking into the ring, that although was not alight with blue fire, was still glowing brighter than it usually did. "Marion of Khur, Predecessor of the Blue Star, I call thee for audience."

He turned a few seconds later after sensing her presence in the room to regard her.

This was the same 'mysterious' woman who had saved his life when he had been attacked by the Broken Tusk clan a little under a year ago. The same woman who had tutored him in his duty as Guardian and Miiro, the same who had carried the burden of the Blue Star before him. He was still bewildered as to why he had gained it, and not someone else who cared for the purpose that the damn thing be Guarded for, who wanted this responsibility.

Not that she had gleefully, when realizing Raistlin was also a Miiro, handed it over to him.

"Raistlin, Guardian, my Successor," she said simply.

"Marion, Tutor, my Predecessor," he greeted back. "You know."

"I would be denying more than my blood if I did not," she answered wryly, shrugged the many tiny braids that comprised her hair from her shoulders to behind her so that the entire mass rested on her back. "But I suspect you bore the brunt of it."

"I may have," he said. "I need your guidance, you are far more experienced in the Greater Balance than I. What should I do?"

She lifted a dark eyebrow, "Your duty."

With that she disappeared again, and Raistlin sighed, "Well, that was useless..."

* * *

Tanin and Sturm came back later in the day, and Raistlin sat up in bed from the nap he was having as he heard them enter their room. They had left the door between rooms open, he supposed to hear him if he needed help in the night with his illness. The fit, which Raistlin knew was not caused by the heat, nor anything to do with the heat, had left him feeling a bit weak and he tired quickly. But that would pass... he hoped. 

He stood up and straightened his hair and clothing a bit and walked to the door and leaned on the doorframe. They looked up, and Raistlin could see Tanin's upset face before it was covered in concern. Even still, they were getting themselves ready and checking each other's armor a bit too thoroughly for a simple day. "What is it?" he asked in concern.

"Kalaman is under attack," answered Sturm. "They're calling all capable fighters to the walls and the field to fend the Knights of Takhisis off. Oh, and Lord Gilthanas sends his greetings, Magus Palin Majere."

This last was said with half an amused smirk, then Sturm was left with his mouth slack as his Uncle turned on his heel and walked into his own room. Tanin looked around the corner then started as he saw Raistlin struggling a bit with his own armor and equipment, checking his spell components, "Are you well enough to fight?"

"I shall have to be, Nephew," came the stern answer, and Tanin just barely heard the next. "For all of existence."

Tanin walked in and helped his Uncle balance out the leather armor. "Are you sure?" asked Sturm. "The heat did you in last time..."

"No, it did not, but I will have to explain after the battle," said Raistlin once his armor was on completely.

They walked out, and had to gain their footing as an earthshaking explosion rocked the ground as a blue dragon flew over. Raistlin could just barely see the ride, but that was all he had to see. With a grim smile, he chanted and in mere seconds the spell launched and took the dragon in the left wing.

With a sense of satisfaction, he watched as the wing was all but dissolved as well as the entirety of the left side. It also took out whomever was riding the dragon as the dying beast screamed as it spiraled down to fall, its momentum carrying it out of the city and into the Dark Knight's front line. As he ascended to the wall and looked over he saw that the massive dragon had only taken out a small portion of the front line.

"Oh no..." he breathed in disbelief.

The fields outside of Kalaman were full of an army, and more black ships. He realized that the black ships were what carried the Dark Knights to Kalaman. He leaned on the edge as he surveyed the situation. Even with the four thousand Solamnic Knights in the city, even with the extra mercenaries, they were outnumbered ten to one. Tanin came up behind him and said, "What are our chances?"

"Not good," answered Raistlin darkly, then he called to the captain of the guard. "How many wizards are there in the city?"

"One, maybe two," answered the guard. "Gilthanas, you, and one other."

He let his head lean on his hands, "Gilthanas ever take the Test?"

"No, Master Majere, I did not," came the elf's voice from behind him. "You've grown."

"You've got grey hair," pointed out Raistlin.

Gilthanas shrugged, "So, now you see the situation. I know you have just passed the Test, so all I expect is your all. Perhaps Paladine will smile on us today."

"I think Paladine is otherwise occupied, as well as the other Gods," came Raistlin's wry answer. "We don't have time for this...!"

Gilthanas looked at him in confusion, but said nothing. Finally a representative from the Knights came forward, "We would wish to parley."

"Speak!" called out Gilthanas.

"If you surrender, we will treat you as honorably as the Solamnic Knights. You will have stricter laws, but they shall be fair. So long as you follow our Dark Queen," said the man.

"In a rat's ass," muttered Raistlin's with a snort. "Never have, never will..."

Gilthanas allowed himself a smile considering that he had been the only one that heard Raistlin's whisper. "The People of Kalaman follow Paladine, God of Good. Not the Queen of Darkness."

"Then you shall die or be forced under our bootheel," yelled the Knight. "If we next meet, it will be with an iron collar on your neck, elf!"

Raistlin chanted a low spell and just as the Dark Knight joined the front line, his fireball went off centered on the lead Knight. "Tell the Dark Queen that no Majere has ever followed her," called Raistlin clearly as he turned his ring out so that it was no longer hiding, and as he changed to the golden skinned form he finished. "For I am sure she will remember me."

Gilthanas stared at Raistlin in open-mouthed shock, as did the rest of the wall. On the wall, as it was also whispered throughout the entire army of Takhisis, "Raistlin! It's Raistlin! He's the one who challenged the Dark Queen, and won!"

He could sense the fear, could sense the disbelief of everyone, could even sense the Dark Knight's utter shock. Here was a man that even if he could not wipe out their entire army, he could enough damage that the battle would not be worthwhile. He was also supposed to be evil, but as they could clearly see, he did not wear black except for the leather breastplate and shoulder and arm guards. He could see as the foot soldiers backed off a little.

His fireball had left only a singe mark where their spokesman had been, as well as taken out at least a hundred feet of men and the blue-skinned brutes. Those who survived picked themselves up and hobbled, usually with help, to healers within the ranks. Raistlin allowed himself a small smile, but it fell off when the grey robed wizards started to appear. "Shit," he swore, and he turned to Gilthanas. "They have wizards of their own."

"So I see," came Gilthanas' quiet reply.

In didn't take long for another spokesperson to be appointed, this one out of the grey robes. An authoritive woman yelled up, "Come down, Majere, and we will take the city as peacefully as they will allow us to."

"And if I don't?" called out Raistlin.

"Then die as a traitor to your own Dark Queen!"

"Look who's talking! Did I not see you at the last Conclave? But now you walk the path of renegade, like I did," Raistlin retorted. "No, Lillith, you are the traitor– to the Conclave!"

Raistlin mentally went through his spells, and a small smile lit on his face. "Come now, taste true power from the one who challenged, and won!"

The parley ended, and the warriors advanced on the city's walls. Raistlin didn't waste time, and immediately began chanting. As his fingers traced the first of his spells, the siege engines were set on the walls, and the battle broke out. The first blue-skinned brute was climbing up a ladder that had been set on the wall directly in front of him.

Tanin, who was just behind Raistlin, saw only his Uncle's back and the head and upper torso of the Brute. Suddenly, everything stopped and Raistlin started casting again... and again as the spells kept going off. Tanin counted ten spells before time started again. _Well, that was handy_, reflected Tanin as he attacked the really surprised Brute as the ten spells then went off.

Everyone outside the affected areas were shocked to their core when first the Knights seemed to drop, suddenly dehydrated and dying. Then a cloud of poison covered the beach and killed those on the ships. At the same time in another area a cloud of fire ripped through their camp. Much to Tanin and Sturm's surprise, _Meteor Swarm_ made an appearance at the bottom of the ladders where the siege engines bases were and collapsed them. The Brute disappeared from sight as he was unceremoniously dropped to the ground.

But, considering that Tanin couldn't begin to describe the other seven spells cast, those on the wall cheered as the Dark Army lost a quarter of their strength in less than thirty seconds. The Knights of Takhisis fell back, saw that there was nothing left of their ships, and dug themselves in for their battle.

In barely an instant, those who brought a siege had become the besieged.

* * *

Nightlord Lillith, the leader of the Knights of the Thorn, had heard legends of Raistlin Majere, even had modeled herself after him. She had always dreamed of possessing his power and influence. To be at the receiving end of his magic was a bit unsettling. 

A bit? she mused. More like extremely. More like terrifying.

But what power! He was everything the tales had said he was, and much more. Now that she had time to think and meditate, she was absolutely obsessed. She had seen the wizard before he had made himself known to everyone... and paid little attention to him other than he carried a unique and familiar Staff. She did not see it clearly from where she had been, but the dark hair whipping in the wind... then the silvery white hair...

She closed her eyes and imagined him standing at her side under the banner of the Dark Queen. It was too bad, really. If he had come down and submitted, the Dark Knighthood could have taken Ansalon in a matter of months, not years as they suspected it would take. His power harnessed to the Dark Queen's sway would wipe out the Solamnic Order.

But there he was, one of them. It was enough to make her blood burn in rage if her blood didn't burn with dreams of power and with him as the key...

* * *

Once the siege engines had been repulsed, Raistlin finally gave into the exhaustion and sat down hard on the stone wall, leaning against the wall as he did so. Tanin and Sturm knelt at either side in concern, "Uncle, did an arrow catch you?" 

Gilthanas snorted, "They didn't even get a chance to fire any arrows, it was over that fast. He took out their archers first. No, he's exhausted from casting that much of his magic."

They lifted Raistlin to his nerveless feet, where he said, "Gilthanas has a point. I think I may have even gone through some of my cantrips..."

Tanin supported Raistlin as he walked down the stairs unsteadily, taking a few breaks as Raistlin sat down on them a few times, to, as he said, "Let me catch my breath."

After the fifth time as they reached the bottom, Raistlin finally crumpled into Tanin's arms. Sturm helped support him, and asked, "Is he all right?"

"Just sleeping," pointed out Gilthanas as they could barely hear Raistlin's soft, but deep, breathing, almost softly snoring so soundly was his slumber in Tanin's arms. "He'll probably sleep most of tomorrow."

And he did sleep. Raistlin was laid down in his bed again as Tanin stripped his armor, boots and the heavy cloak and tunic off before pulling the bedcovers up over his shoulders. Raistlin seemed to sink into the bed so that only his white hair was seen from out from under the covers. Sturm pulled the curtains so that the room was plunged into darkness. They slid out and into their own room, pulling the door mostly shut as to prevent most of the light from their room from disturbing their Uncle's rest. Tanin looked out at the vaguely confused citizenry. "That battle should have taken a day, maybe more," pointed out Sturm. "They don't understand how it ended so fast."

"It's not over yet," pointed Tanin. "They will, somehow, given the fact that they have their own wizards, recoup. And they have dragons."

Neither of them had to mention the dragon that Raistlin had near effortlessly taken down, complete with the rider. "Not to deny the serious dent in their forces," admitted Tanin, before turning to Sturm with shining eyes. "But wasn't that something to see! Imagine, most people before now only considered him a legend and never saw his true power. But we saw him today, and what he can do. Now, imagine if we combined him with say, a hundred Knights, what we could have done to that army out there?"

Sturm compressed his lips into a concerned line, although his eyes held the same awed shine, "Careful, brother, he's still one man, and look at the aftermath. He can't even form two coherent words let alone stand and fight. And he only took out a quarter of their forces and the supply and reinforcement line. Although, that was rather clever..."

"He's a war wizard, Sturm," pointed out Tanin. "He knows where to hit them to do the most damage. Did you see their faces when he revealed who he was? Oh, now there's a picture I would like..."

Sturm mimicked a few of the faces, and they snickered. Suddenly they stopped, Sturm then said, "Uh, you do realize that everyone is going to know from here back to Solace what happened, and it's likely going to be embellished with stupid things..."

They fell silent, but their smiles widened, and Tanin said, "There's our fame, Sturm. We fight at the side of the most powerful war wizard ever..."

* * *

A middle aged man flew through the night on the back of the large blue dragon. He and the dragon had been flying together for nearly fifteen years, and he still was struck with awe at the incredible height at which they soared. He looked down at where he had been sent. The blue dragon, protected by spells of non-detection, landed softly in the Dark Knight's encampment. He was greeted by the de facto general, the Nightlord Lillith. Saluting each other in respect, the Knight of the Lily asked, "What happened here?" 

"A wizard on the side of Kalaman happened," answered Lillith. "Raistlin Majere."

"Isn't he dead?" asked the surprised Steel Brightblade.

"He's supposed to be, but, he is one that is never where he should be, nor doing what is expected of him," she pointed out with a barely hidden sneer. "As you should well know."

"Never assume that because I happen to be related that I understand them," said Steel. "So, how do you plan to take Kalaman?"

"With magic," she answered matter of factly. "Archmagus Majere will be exhausted, too exhausted to be of any help to either side. We will press the attack and I will lead a small team of Knights of the Thorn and Lily to capture the Lord of the City, as well as their 'sudden' benefactor. Our Queen has given me a Vision: I am to take Raistlin into custody and remind him of his duty to our Dark Queen. If he does not submit, then I am to take him to the portal and sacrifice him to Takhisis, thereby opening the portal and letting our Dark Queen enter Krynn and ensuring her complete victory."

"I have a feeling that he will be sacrificed, then," grumbled Steel, half to himself. "From what I hear of him, he will not submit."

The Nightlord smiled darkly, "We shall see. I can be convincing when I wish to be..."

* * *

Yeah, yeah, cliffhangers suck. Consider it revenge for everyone making cliffhangers on us, lol. 


	9. The Lost City

_**A/N**_: A few days ago we were left with an interesting conundrum: _How do we split up the Majere's in a similar manner to the original Dragons of a Summer Flame, but not kill any of them so that the Abyss/Meeting of the Gods scene was relatively the same?_ We hope our answer is a good one...

* * *

Chapter Eight   
The Lost City

* * *

Raistlin woke to the sound of lightening strikes. Tanin and Sturm were already up and their armor on. Tanin helped Raistlin to his feet and quickly helped him into his. Raistlin grabbed his Staff and they ran outside. Raistlin inwardly groaned. The Knights of Takhisis, supply line as destroyed as it was, had still been able to call in their reinforcements.

Tanin asked him, "I don't suppose you had enough time to memorize any spells, did you?"

"No," answered Raistlin. "Oh, I still have a few memorized, but nothing like I had yesterday."

When they could see the Brutes in the streets, Raistlin herded them to the Temple of Mishakel and they brought down the gate to it. Noticing that those of the city who had been able to had also fallen back into the Temple, Raistlin said, "Kalaman is lost, nephews."

They set their lips in a grim line. "What of Gilthanas?" asked Tanin. "He is Lord of the City."

Raistlin watched as the Knights ran by, then took them to a cleric, "Is there a back way out of here? Perhaps to the palace?"

The young cleric shook his head, "Not to the palace, but there is another way out."

"How?" asked Raistlin.

When the cleric pointed down, Raistlin inwardly groaned. The catacombs were not a place he wanted to be going with little to no spells memorized. But Tanin and Sturm were already heading down, and Raistlin followed after getting vague directions from the cleric. Just before he disappeared down the stairs, the cleric said, "Archmagus, may the Veiled Lady guard your steps."

Raistlin was rather surprised considering the Veiled Lady was another name for Lunitari, but he said in turn, "And the Lady of Mercy protect yours."

With that he followed his nephews into the catacombs.

* * *

Steel Brightblade was not a superstitious man by nature. But when the Nightlord had told him that his Uncle and cousins were in the city, and fighting against them, a little chill had settled over his own heart. He didn't relish the thought of killing family. It was repugnant, dishonorable. Especially when said family did not even know he existed. Steel sighed, and Blayze, his blue dragon rumbled in question, "What bothers you, Steel?"

"My Uncle Raistlin is somewhere below us, in Kalaman."

The blue dragon was silent for a long moment before answering, "I will endeavor to take him alive, but he is a very, very powerful wizard."

"Who hasn't been given time to memorize his spells," pointed out Steel. "I hope."

* * *

Raistlin led the small group of four through the catacombs, following the wan directions. At the first junction, he stopped.

Four?

There should only be three...

He turned to regard the latest member of the small troupe. The small kender woman looked up at him. "Hi! I saw you cast magic, so I thought I would tag a long. After all, I was ordained as a cleric..."

"You? A cleric?" asked Raistlin in disbelief.

"Yeah! I asked one of the clerics if I could, and I hung around for so long that they finally told me that I could be a cleric if I left with the first group of adventurers that came through," she smiled brightly. "That would be you!"

"Oh really? Well you left with us, now you can go back the way you came," stated Raistlin coldly.

"Aw, come on, Uncle Raistlin, she could be handy," Sturm pointed out. "Besides, we could use the entertainment."

Raistlin looked up, rolled his eyes, and said, "Fine. What's your name, anyway?"

The kender looked up at him and said, "Juniper Thistlebead, and yours?"

"I'm Sturm Majere, this is my older brother Tanin, we're Knights of the Crown, and this is... our Uncle Raistlin Majere, who is a Knight Auxiliary," introduced Sturm.

The kender turned to Raistlin in wide-eyed wonder, "You're really Raistlin? But what happened to your gold skin and eyes? Wasn't your eyes hourglass shaped, but now I see they're blue! Oh wow, they're an angry blue... are you mad at me? I hope not, all I want to be is friends. Gee, that's really nice armor you have... oh, you met the Dark Queen! What's she like?"

Raistlin jaw slowly dropped, and the two Majere brothers had to stifle giggles at their uncle's vague look of frustration, confusion, and back to frustration again as the kender kept rambling. Finally Raistlin answered, "It's armor, broke the curse, yes, I'm upset, but not at you, I don't need another kender for a friend, I have one too many, touch the armor I turn you into a frog, and She has five heads that tried to eat me, and not in the pleasant way."

Then their uncle turned around and stalked off down the corridor and they all had to scramble to keep up with him.

Raistlin, when he finally found the door that was promised to take them outside stopped when his ring started to glow. "Shit, not now," he cursed under his breath as his skin turned to his gold color.

Whatever was on the other side of the door was probably something that could kill them all. "_Shirak_."

The staff lit and Raistlin poked it in to light up the chamber. A set of eyes mirrored the light back. They didn't look friendly...

* * *

Caramon and Tanis were catching up with old times when Tanis saw the messenger materialize out of no where, then fall down from exhaustion. They ran over and helped the young boy to a sitting position. "What happened?" asked Tanis.

The boy answered, "I have to find Lady Laurana..."

"I'm her husband," said Tanis.

"Kalaman is under attack, likely fallen by now. Lord Gilthanas tried to hold off the Knights of Takhisis as long as he could, and..."

"...And?" prodded Tanis.

"Oh, it was amazing, but terrifying," said the messenger. "We thought we were lost on the first day when this wizard stepped up and blew the Dark Knight's supply line and a quarter of their forces to the Abyss. I've never seen the like- first there was thousands upon thousands of Dark Knights surrounding the city, then their supply line was taken out, and then at least a quarter of them. They even retreated a little. We thought we were saved. Granted, the wizard nearly collapsed right after..."

"This wizard, did have companions, Knights of the Crown?" asked Caramon urgently, begging, _Please, Paladine, let it not be them_...

The boy nodded, "Two young Knights. Majere."

With that the boy passed out and Tanis and Caramon looked at each other, "Raistlin."

* * *

The wizard and Knights in question were locked in a life or death battle with a creature not seen for a very, very long time. There was a few times where Raistlin nearly called on the Staff to Teleport them all out of here and back to his Tower, but he didn't. He wanted to save that last resort until he found Gilthanas and could get him out of here too.

Given that they had the doorway as a way of protection, Raistlin was pretty sure that they could defeat the shadow on the other side of the door.

As his staff sailed through the creature without actually hitting, he was beginning to wonder though.

Once, Tanin's blade struck, and the creature with one cry faded from the land of the living permanently. They sighed a collective sigh of relief as Raistlin faded back to normal and his ring stopped glowing. "The danger has passed, for now," he stated as he walked through the door.

They walked in and climbed the ladder to the street grate above. The kender wriggled through and used the combined leverage of the Staff of Magius and her hoopak to slide the grate off so that the other three could climb out of the sewer. Raistlin looked around the corner, and saw the City Manor that housed Gilthanas. So far the Dark Knights had not penetrated the city deep enough to take the manor. Raistlin looked up, and saw the blue dragons flying over.

The Staff in his hand seemed to thrum. _Patience_, he told it. _Your time will come_.

The power banked, but was still very, very ready to use if his magic senses were as accurate as they always had been. "It's clear, but don't dawdle," he told them and then they ran across the square just as the first of the Brutes came around the corner.

He could hear cries of rage and challenge as the spears bounced off the flagstones too close for comfort. A few seconds later, all four were within the safety of the manor and the doors slammed shut behind them. The kender, his nephews, and he were ushered into the central council chambers and then those doors clanged shut behind them and were barricaded. Raistlin stood before Gilthanas. "Raistlin."

"Gilthanas."

"I was a bit worried that you had been captured," said Gilthanas, then he looked down at the floor. When he looked up, there was regret in his eyes. "It was a good try yesterday, old friend. It bought us time if nothing else."

"Indeed," agreed Raistlin, equally as regretfully. "So, this is where we make our last stand."

Gilthanas drew his sword as did the other Knights. "They will not take us alive."

"I would rather not be taken," pointed out Raistlin as they all faced the last great stone door that held back the Dark Knights.

It was only a few mere moments that seemed to take an eternity. The silence in the Council room was almost alive, and the smell of fear was palpable. Finally, the attack came when the Knights began to take down the door. The great stone doors shuddered, and the Knights with lances knelt and set them against any who would charge inside. As there was only five Knights, not including his nephews, Raistlin was skeptical about their chances.

Finally, he saw the answer and he turned to Gilthanas and handed him the Staff of Magius. He could sense the question in the Staff, and he answered in a low whisper, "Protect them as you have me."

The Staff lit itself dimly in answer. It would do as he asked, but not like it at all. "Tanin, Sturm," he said. "It's over. Stand by Gilthanas."

They looked at him in confusion, but did as told. He hugged them both and said softly so that only they could hear, "Always remember that you protect those you love most by finding a way to have them live."

He held out his hand and asked Tanin, "Can I borrow your sword?"

Tanin handed him his sword in confusion, and Raistlin answered, "You are not going to need it where you are going."

As the door fell with a crash, and he ordered the Staff, "Now!"

Tanin and Sturm had no time to move away, as Gilthanas touched the required rune on the Staff that glowed in readiness. The room faded from sight and then they were gone.

Raistlin turned to face the fallen door as the first of the Brutes stupidly charged the set lances. When they went down, the Dark Knights came in. Dropping their lances, the Solamnic Knights stepped back and drew their swords. With a salute from either side, the fight began.

Even Raistlin knew they were going to lose. Kitiara may have taught him how to use a sword (in fact, that had been the first of the lessons beaten into him by her before they all had learned of his magic...) but even that knowledge would not save them. He was mostly out of spells.

He spread his hands into a fan like shape and with Flaming Hands managed to bring down a few of the Brutes. One was still standing, but flailing blindly with his sword. It was practically nothing for Raistlin to smoothly step out of the way and finish him off with one clean slice that separated his head from his shoulders.

It got to the point that all he had was his cantrips, then he didn't even have those. At that point, he was thanking his elder sister for those forced lessons in Solace as it was the only thing keeping the Brutes at bay.

But the Brutes were not Knights and the Dark Knights, after finishing off the Solamnics that would not surrender, surrounded him. The same Nightlord that he had taken on verbally the day before strode in, took in Raistlin in his defensive posture, sword held high in a graceful, but very basic stance. "Stand down. It's over."

Raistlin let the sword drop to the floor with a clatter. "So it would seem."

* * *

Tanin, Sturm, Thistle and Gilthanas materialized in a dark room. Gilthanas wrinkled his nose in disgust at the smell even as his mind recognized what it must be. "Wow," said Thistle. "This place is sure dark. Where are we?"

Tanin looked around in the gloom. It was a place of magic, that much was certain, but he noted that it was not his uncle's lab. So, where were they? The door opened and a man's voice said, "I rather thought I sensed new arrivals."

They turned to face the Head of the White Robes, Dunbar Mastersmate. Gilthanas gave a respectful bow. "Master Dunbar, please forgive the intrusion."

"Prince Gilthanas of Qualinesti?" asked Dunbar in thinly veiled surprise. "And Tanin and Sturm Majere! Where is your bother, I see Gilthanas has his Staff..."

"I thought he was your Uncle?" asked Thistle in sudden confusion. "Does that mean you have two Raistlin's in your family?"

Dunbar looked from the kender to the Majere's and back to the kender again. "I think you owe me a bit of an explanation..."

* * *

Raistlin was paraded out of the Central Palace and into the city square before the citizens and other Knights. "Where now is your so-called savior? Out of spells and captured, like the rest of you. Submit now."

He could see the effect that this had on the people as the pall settled on them all. A Knight, came up and held a sponge soaked in some sort of fluid on it. It reeked, and the smell made his head swim. The Nightlord said simply, "You may be out of spells, but you are still a threat."

With that he passed out.

* * *

Steel was left in charge of watching the man. Looking down on his Uncle's face in the forced slumber, he found himself finding more family resemblance in that face that even that of his other uncle, Caramon. The Nightlord looked at him, barely hidden hunger in her eyes, "I never expected him to be rather pleasing to the eye. This is better than I had planned. Find him suitable clothes. He is no White Robe, nor even Red. He is evil, and surely the color _Black_ is more his color? Make sure they are a fine robe, remember that as the Master of the Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthas he is considered a noble Lord. Find something suitable for that status," she told a squire who nodded as he memorized her orders and went to do as told. Running a finger down his jaw, she said, "Finally, you are mine."

Steel had to suppress the shudder at the thought...

* * *

Dunbar sat down after hearing the tale. He wasn't he only one after the emergency Conclave was called. Ladonna, who although no longer the Head of the Black Robes was still a member of the Conclave, said, "I don't believe it."

"Well, I certainly do," said Jenna, the new Head of the Red Robes, and daughter of the late Justarius. "As you remember, my father even said there was something _off_ about Palin upon his return. Now we know what that was- he wasn't even Palin!"

Dalamar remained silent as the eyes turned to him, and Dunbar pointed out, "You have nothing to say, or are you not even all that surprised?"

"He knew," said Tanin.

Sturm elaborated, "When Uncle Raistlin sent me back to his Tower, Dalamar was told to treat me as Raistlin's guest while I was there."

The wizard's eyes returned to Dalamar who merely shrugged, "I merely did as my _Shalafi_ told me. I saw no harm, and the minute he fell back into old habits I would have reported it. But he never did."

"Then the next question is what do we do about this knowledge," stated Jenna. "Do we allow Raistlin to live as member of the Conclave, or do we still call him renegade and hunt him down?"

Tanin objected, "Wait a minute, did you not hear one word? He did it for us. He didn't want us to grieve. And he's been trying to live as Palin would have. He gave up his own _identity_. I can't imagine what that would have been like. Could _you_ do the same to protect anothers honor? I'm not even sure if I could!"

The wizards leaned back in their chairs, some looking at each other in helplessness, a few even believing what Tanin said. But Ladonna said, "Remember, this is Raistlin Majere. He used a cleric of Paladine to open the Portal to the Abyss so that he could take on Takhisis, and nearly destroyed us all in the process. Remember how he deceived Crysania, with the same words, the same method. He made her believe he was redeemable! And now, listen to his nephew. Does that not sound the same?"

This brought on a whole other set of murmurs and Sturm leaned over to Tanin, "Now I know why he didn't want anyone to know he was still alive."

Tanin, his brows forming a worried crease, "I now understand that as well. I don't like the way the tide of their opinion is turning. If this keeps up, he'll be hunted down like an animal..."

* * *

Raistlin woke to a feeling of motion. As he picked up his head and looked over the side of where he was tied to the saddle, he saw that he was a long distance from the ground. His hands were tied behind him and he was secured by the waist to the dragon's saddle. His spell component pouches were all gone, as was his armor and the tunic and breeches he preferred when traveling.

In fact, he wasn't even in the white outer tunic.

Looking down, he saw that he was in heavy and extremely rich and well made black robes. They were just like his old robes, heavy in velvet and soft to the touch. He could see the hem was done in a rich and dark blue, and had a sheen like silk.

He was a prisoner, but he was a well-kept prisoner. In fact, it looked like he was back to his old clothes again. As familiar as this all felt, he didn't feel like he belonged in them anymore.

Well, at least they had left him with the Blue Star, but then again, the stone was turned into his palm and therefore looked, and felt, like a plain gold ring lacking any magic.

"You're awake," said a man's voice. "I was wondering if they overdid it, Archmagus Majere."

Raistlin looked up to regard the man, and nearly caught himself mid-laugh. "I'm afraid you have the advantage on me when it comes to a name."

"Sir Steel Brightblade, Knight of the Lily," he answered.

Oh, the irony here... send him to Takhisis and deliver him by his own nephew. This Nightlord had a sense of humor, he could see. "So, where has she sent me?"

"She sends you to Neraka," he stated. "You will be brought before the Dark Queen. There you will be given the choice of either submitting to her will and receiving your part in her Vision."

"Or?"

"Or you will be sacrificed to her," he finished.

"I don't like either choice, quite frankly," snarled Raistlin. "I am not her puppet to have my strings pulled for some God's idea of what they would like happen. In fact, I am _no one's_ puppet. And I will not allow myself to be sacrificed either."

Steel shrugged, "I would like to see how, considering you have no weapons, nor any spells memorized."

Raistlin smiled. "I have my ways."

* * *

_Excerpt from the next chapter:_

"I thought you had honor, but now I see you are as capricious as all the Gods of Evil," stated Sturm. "Now I see why the Knighthood rightly called you all evil. We will not support your decision, and will defend our Uncle to the death, if that is what it comes to!"

_See you all in about a day or so!_


	10. The Renegade

A/N: We played this through again with another set of original characters this weekend, only we weren't aware of what Andrew had in store for us when we created characters. In later chapters, short little cameos of said characters will appear, lol. One may appear sooner because of how much she sticks out like a sore thumb in Dragonlance...

* * *

Chapter Nine

The Renegade

* * *

Raistlin watched as the familiar blasted rock and fiery volcanos that surrounded Neraka came into view. The blue dragon circled before descending to an area where other blue dragons bugled their greeting. As Steel's dragon landed, an armored man, and judging by the armor, someone of very high rank, walked up to them, as well as a black robed cleric, her holy symbol showing the five headed dragon of Takhisis, as well as the Nightlord walked up. 

Steel pulled Raistlin up to present him to these three, and the man said, "Ah, Knight Brightblade, he didn't give you much trouble?"

"No sir, he did not," answered Steel, giving Raistlin a push down to the cobblestone square.

As there was nothing to prevent him from falling, he hit the ground, but managed to roll and not hurt himself. However, with his hands tied behind him, there was no way for him to get up from the ground. The man smiled and drew his sword at Raistlin's struggle, held it underneath his chin. Raistlin stilled and stared up at the man. "I must admit, you look nothing like your legends tell."

Raistlin did not answer him. The man frowned and looked up at Steel, "Is the Archmagus _mute?_"

"No, Lord Ariakan," answered Steel. "He had spoken to me upon waking. I have no idea why he would not be speaking now."

Steel poked Raistlin in the shoulder with a finger, "Come on, I know you can talk. Say something."

"There is nothing to be said," whispered Raistlin in a low, soft whisper, one that for all its softness was still easily heard. "That I have not already said."

"Will you submit to our Dark Queen and receive your part in her great Vision?" asked Ariakan.

"No."

The Nightlord, Lillith, interjected before Ariakan swung his great sword to finish Raistlin right then and there, "Excuse me, my Lord, but perhaps I can offer a solution acceptable to both parties?"

Ariakan planted the point of his sword in a small groove between stones. "Speak, Nightlord," growled the Commander of the Dark Knights.

"Allow me to take him into custody for now, show him the error of being independent of Our Great Queen, show him the power and Vision that only She can grant him," suggested Lillith. "I saw myself that he had run himself out of memorized spells. He is of no threat. Allow me to take him under my wing."

For a moment, Ariakan seemed to refuse, then he nodded, "Very well. But you are responsible for all that he does or fails to do."

Lillith inclined her head in acceptance, and Ariakan spun on his heel and walked away. The Nightlord helped Raistlin to his feet and undid the binding on his wrists. Raistlin rubbed his wrists to ease the aches and to help the blood flowing again. Steel watched, inwardly not liking this at all. He turned to leave, but Lillith said, "Knight Brightblade, I understand that this man is your Uncle, your mother's younger brother."

"Half-brother," corrected Raistlin softly. "Kitiara's father was not mine nor my Twin's."

She waved that off as if the detail was unimportant, "Half-brother, brother, it matters little. You are still this Knight's Uncle."

"Yes," answered Raistlin in puzzlement and the old sharpness slipped in to his voice, not seeing where this was going, and wishing she would make her point.

"Then consider this your first task, Majere," she said coldly. "You will go to your Tower, and you will open the Portal in your lab."

"And why would I do that?" asked Raistlin in stunned disbelief.

The Nightlord smiled, "To allow our Queen to enter Krynn and finally take what is hers. No one will stand against her."

Steel caught the single lift of Raistlin's auburn eyebrow, but Lillith missed it. Raistlin seemed to smile a bit, his lip slightly turning up so little so as to escape notice, but it was there nonetheless. He could only guess what was running through Raistlin's mind at that moment, and then he was answered as Raistlin pointed out sarcastically, "But you know that I cannot do that, Nightlord. It requires one other– a cleric of good, preferably of Paladine. And last time I checked, _you_ weren't one of them."

"What's wrong with that cleric you used last time?" she asked.

"She won't do it, and you know it," Raistlin sighed. "Enough of this. Kill me and be done with it, you know that I won't submit to Takhisis, and what you ask of me when it comes to that is impossible, even if I wanted to."

The Nightlord flushed as angry shade of crimson, but Raistlin cut in as he said to Steel, "Don't you have a patrol with your wing?"

Steel blinked and heard Blayze's positive and answering rumble. Wordlessly he mounted and watched the other blues and their Knights did the same. Once they were out of all sight and sound of Neraka, he asked Blayze, "Why did we leave?"

"Because he warned me that he still has two spells left. Two spells he created himself, and ones that make Meteor Swarm look like a simple cantrip," answered the dragon. "And I think he means to use them as a lesson to the Nightlord."

"So why spare me, us?"

"You are his nephew, and as evil as he is, he is still requires by his own set of ethics to protect his family," answered the blue matter of factly.

Meanwhile, the Nightlord thinned her eyes and with one gesture, they were in her suite. Raistlin sighed, "This is getting tiresome, Nightlord."

"You will not dictate to me what is to be," she said angrily. "_You... are... mine!_"

Raistlin lifted a brow as he allowed his gold skin to show. He smiled slightly. "I am no one's. Even Takhisis knows that. You mean to break me, to bend me to your will, not of your Dark Queen's!" he shouted the last, then regained his composure.

A moment later they both realized his minor slip of the tongue. "Of my Dark Queen?" she asked. "If not the Gods of Darkness, of which She is Queen, then who do you follow?"

Raistlin could feel a slight tingling on his left ring finger where the Blue Star sat, and was aware of the slow feeling of a swelling sensation, like his body was too small. But it was not an uncomfortable swelling.

_His eyes closed, and he still saw a starry field._

Guardian__

_He opened his eyes and was on a blasted island._

Miiro__

_Raistlin looked around and saw the fire giant turn to face him._

Brother__

_The Fire Giant looked surprised, even a bit alarmed at seeing Raistlin. For the life of him, Raistlin couldn't figure out why as this giant was Chaos, father of the Gods._

You still sleep, but I am awake. I find this amusing, Brother_, said Chaos. _I wonder if you will wake to see our precious Mother's creation die, and burn.__

_Raistlin felt the swelling again, and this time he knew his Sight lay not in the present, but the past._

Chaos you shall be called, and Chaos you will be_, said a voice that seemed to echo in his ears and he wanted to put his hands over his ears at the sound._

_The God, Chaos laughed in this one's face and Raistlin could see the finger point of said High God, God of all Law, Creation, and of Order level on Chaos. Without thinking, knowing that the two halves of the whole were required, Raistlin jumped in between._

_He could hear the yelled warning from Law, Chaos' intake of shocked breath. But it was too late._

_The swelling feeling was done, replaced by a feeling of a shattering_.

Raistlin covered his eyes and knelt on the stone floor, sucking in half panicked breaths. Lillith creased her brows in worry and held onto his shoulders. While she was angry with his refusal, she was concerned, but as her touch he yelled, "_Let go of me!_"

The reaction was near instantaneous and Lillith was sent flying up to the sixty foot ceiling, across the room and into the far wall as the force of Raistlin's second to last spell hit her full on. The sound of the destructive energy seemed to explode in the room and Raistlin's scream of sudden shock and pain from the backlash of his own spell.

Other grey robed wizards who heard Raistlin's scream rushed in and the first thing they saw was Raistlin with his gold skin a bit paler than normal (which, made the first thing they saw was Raistlin Majere). The next thing they saw was what remained of the Nightlord.

The first woman held a hand to her mouth in shock at the sight. All that remained of Lillith was a crushed form, blood pouring out of her nose, her eyes, her mouth, even her fingernails. They looked back at Raistlin, who was just climbing back to his feet as he leaned on the wall staring at Lillith himself. He laughed then, mostly in shock as they could tell from the uneasy laugh.

Then he fainted.

* * *

Tanin watched as Sturm paced in their chambers. Gilthanas opened the door and walked in with a grim look on his face. Tanin stood up and Sturm stopped pacing. Gilthanas pointed to the Staff of Magius, "Grab it and come on. It's time." 

They followed to the Conclave chambers. Tanin and Sturm looked at each other. Tanin held the Staff and Sturm stood beside him. Gilthanas was just to the side, but still near them. The Head of the Conclave, Dunbar, motioned them to a side. "We have come to a decision about the Black Robe Wizard Raistlin Majere, and because he is your Uncle, we felt you deserved to know our decision," began Dunbar, then he turned to the wizards. "We all put a stone into the bag, black for Raistlin Majere's condemnation as renegade, white for his acceptance back into the Conclave."

He shook the bag, and Tanin and Sturm watched with interest as he pulled out the stones one by one. Tanin clutched the Staff tighter as he watched for every one white stone, two black were pulled out until finally Dunbar pulled the last of the twenty one stones out. It was also black. Seven white stones, fourteen black. Dunbar sighed, looked down at the ground, then looked at them all, "This is your decision?"

There was an affirmative as the other twenty confirmed their votes. Dunbar nodded and said, "It is our decision that Raistlin Majere be condemned a renegade. His punishment for being a renegade is death."

Sturm stepped forward, "You can't do that to him! I can see where before he was a renegade, but look at all the good he has done! He even joined your Conclave. He could have remained in his Tower..."

"He joined under false pretenses, Knight Majere," replied Ladonna cooly. "Your judgement in this matter is clouded by your emotion anyhow."

With that she seemed to turn to other matters of the Conclave, but Sturm wasn't finished. For once Tanin didn't rein in his younger, and more impulsive brother. He only voiced what Tanin felt anyway. "I thought you had honor, but now I see you are as capricious as all the Gods of Evil," stated Sturm. "Now I see why the Knighthood rightly called you all evil. We will not support your decision, and will defend our Uncle to the death, if that is what it comes to!"

Dalamar's voice boomed, "Calm yourself, Knight, and remember on what grounds you stand."

"He has a point," said Gilthanas. "And remember that Raistlin sent us here for our safety, and then offered himself up as a distraction so we had enough time to escape. But you do remember that. You are afraid of him, afraid of what he can do _to_ you but ignore what he can do _for_ you. I thought the same on that wall in Kalaman when he revealed himself. I thought we were betrayed, but he saved us, even if we lost in the end. I'd say you owe him a favor. I stand with the Majere's on this, as I owe Raistlin a debt of honor for saving my life, and you owe him for alerting you to the danger. He said something else on the wall, you see, he said 'We don't have time for this'. He meant the war with the Knights of Takhisis. I think there is something much worse on the horizon, and I now wish there had more time for him to elaborate."

The Conclave looked from each other and Ladonna said, "Or it was a distraction tactic. It matters little now. We have made our decision."

Dunbar sighed, and turned to Dalamar, "You've been quiet throughout this. You are the Head of the Black Robes, what say you?"

"I made my peace, Dunbar," said Dalamar quietly. "I told you, he was not the same upon returning. And trust me on this, even when he was a threat, he didn't care to hide the matter. I do believe the young Knights, and the Prince, have a very valid point."

Dunbar rubbed his chin and said, "Very well, we still proclaim Raistlin Majere a renegade, but, he will not be hunted down as such. The bounty will for him to be brought in alive, and unharmed if possible. We would like to hear why he had returned from his own lips, so to speak. That is our decision."

* * *

Caramon and Tanis relayed the message to Laurana, and she looked at them with puzzlement, "I had no idea Palin was so gifted." 

The two looked at each other, and Tanis said, "Well, dear, he was given his Uncle's staff, and it has been a year since his Test. He's traveled quite a bit, right Caramon?"

Caramon looked from Tanis to Laurana and back again, "Oh, yeah, right. He has."

Laurana's eyes narrowed. "All right you two, there's something you're not telling me. Caramon gave that away, Tanthalas."

Tanis sat down, and Caramon walked to the window and looked out over the plains and forests beyond. Laurana sighed, and asked, "What is it with you? Come on, Raistlin... oh by Paladine, it's Raistlin that boy was talking about, isn't it?"

Caramon nodded, "A redeemed and... well... I don't know. I just know he's changed..."

"...Again," finished Tanis. "Only now he's... well..."

Laurana lifted her eyebrows, "He's what?"

"It's like he carries a heavy burden," described Tanis.

Caramon snorted, "You have no idea. I even have no idea. I just know that he does."

Tanis and Laurana looked at Caramon, and Tanis asked, "What kind of burden?"

"He is a Guardian of an artifact called the Blue Star," answered Caramon. "I have no idea what this 'Blue Star' does, or why he was chosen to carry it, or even guard the thrice damned thing, but he was, and he does."

"The Blue Star?" asked Laurana. "Oh, why does that sound so familiar?"

Tanis ran a hand down his face, "I've heard legends. Myths. Gods, that artifact is supposed to be a myth..."

"...Like dragonlances?" asked Caramon, a bit mischievously.

Tanis glared at his old friend and continued, "Only a demi-god can wear it, and only the Gods can call upon its power. In that I mean, the Blue Star is the resting place of a God older than those we worship now: The Shattered God."

Caramon stopped for a moment, "Only a god, even a lower god, can wear it? You're sure?"

"Yes, I am fairly sure that's how the legend went. Why, or dare I ask?" Tanis visibly cringed.

He cringed more when Caramon answered, "Because Raistlin wears it, always has worn it since he was entrusted with it."

* * *

Usha walked through the city, taking in the amazing place. On Selesia, the Isle of the Irda, no one really congregated like the humans seemed to now. And the buildings were much too tall to even see over where on Selesia, except for where the Decider resided, the buildings were all low to the ground and built out of wood. These were great stone structures, some reaching to the sky itself (or so it seemed to her). 

She asked one person, "Where can I find Lord Dalamar?"

The man recoiled and pointed down the road, and she yelled back at him as she continued down the road, "Thank you!"

As she kept walking, she noticed that every time she asked someone where Dalamar could be found, the reaction was the same, but, thankfully, the direction never changed. Finally she reached the gnarled and twisted trees of the Shoikan Grove. Stopping dead at the horror and fear she felt from the grove, she thought, _An elf lives here? Impossible! No one could live here_.

She walked back into town and asked the first person she saw which was a merchant, "About that Tower, and of Dalamar, how would I see him if I had to? How do I get past the grove of trees?"

The merchant stared at her in disbelief. "You want to go where and see who? My Lady, no one sees the Dark Elf unless he wants to see them first."

Dark Elf? she wondered. Why would the Protector send her to a Dark Elf? She creased her brows, "Is there a way to get in contact with him?"

"Well, you might try Mistress Jenna?"

"Mistress Jenna? Where would I find her?"

* * *

Dalamar paced his chambers in the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth. Lately it had seemed like his life had been turned up on his head and then thrown haphazardly all over like a kender rifled through it. First, his Shalafi had returned. That was fine, except that his Shalafi seemed to have too much on his mind to devote a lot of time to his magic. Oh, and for some reason he was masquerading as Palin. 

Now the Conclave knew. Dalamar seethed at this. He had his reasons for keeping his Shalafi's secret. Granted, none of them were really to Raistlin's benefit, but they were to Dalamar. With Raistlin distracted, but alive, Dalamar could not only bleed as much magic knowledge as he could from the man, but also finally have access to the main lab again. Eventually it had been his aim to defeat Raistlin, but for now he was satisfied with having access to areas he could not before again.

Of course, Raistlin having to be hunted down was not going to help. Oh no, far from it, since the Conclave had decided that it be Dalamar to hunt him down since he had been his apprentice. Doing something like that would require not only tracking him down (which would distract Dalamar from his own experimentations with magic...) but also when Dalamar finally tracked him down meant that there would be a confrontation that he was not altogether sure he was ready for.

Unless, of course, that was Ladonna's plan. Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

In frustration, Dalamar slammed his hand into the oak table and with satisfaction watched as the books were propelled into the air by the force of the slam on the table. While venting his frustration did not help with matters, it did make him feel marginally better.

There had to be some way...

His thoughts were interrupted when the magic mirror on the wall activated and Jenna's voice came through it, "Dalamar, I think you should return to Palanthas."

"Why?"

"I'll be in the Tower, just come and see for yourself. You might find this... interesting. Alarming, but interesting..."

* * *


	11. INTERLUDE ONE: Guardians of the Greater ...

**_A/N_**: The characters that are in the Inn are more for comedic relief, although they will help sometimes fill out the story. And yes, I know, there are no Drow on Krynn. Well, Zi's not really from Krynn, you see, but we'll save that for another story (shameless plug for "In a Strange Land"). The two Windstars (you'll see what I mean) are not the same ones, it just happens that they had the same name.

* * *

Interlude One   
Guardians of the Greater Balance

* * *

_In a place between the Planes_...

None, even those called to the Guardianship, could honestly say that they could fully understand how they were chosen. Not even the one with the Great List of the Miiro could say that she fully understood. She climbed down the glacier to where she could hear the great wheezing of a great set of lungs.

She wrinkled her nose at the various smells as she climbed down. Once she set a heavily armored foot on the entrance, she checked her list again.

Gareth Niles of Greyhawk   
Marta the Brandisher of Baldur's Gate   
Xiethezixezixeithetziquertxexeius (which, of all of them, she found the most amusing considering that this bearer was a Beholder...), and also guardian of the Lost Tomb of Menzoberranzan   
Windstar Oakmyst of Athas   
Sir Noran of Ravenloft   
Grand Duchess Tiriel Silvertree of the Southern Elven Kingdom (which, ironically, as far as she knew was of the Palladium Multiverse... an interesting addition...)   
Lady Marion Uth Maleste of Ergoth

She stopped at this last name, as it was her own, then continued down the list.

Raistlin Majere, current Guardian   
Usha of Selesia... then as she watched it became Usha Majere, then back to Usha the half-irda.

Even Marion found that amusing. The confusion her successor must be having at that. If only she had enough time to see his face. It would be well worth it to just see the typical look of disdain wiped off his face to be replaced with shock or something a bit more amusing. But that was just her own perverse sense of humor coming to the fore.

Then, there was a vast blank space on the scroll and a single name and the most ironic of them all.

_Icingdeath, Paragon White Dragon of Tiamat_

But Marion knew better than to question when and where a Fragment showed up. After all, she was one, Raistlin was one, even the lowly Usha was one. This list was a record of who had been born with a piece of the Shattered God, Miiro. Marion sighed. Many of them were easy as the mark showed upon them and they, for some reason unknown to even themselves, followed the Path of the Greater Balance.

The white dragon was, to the native of Ergoth (when it had still been Ergoth and before the rise of Vinas Solamnus...), the white dragon having a fragment was a frightening prospect. She sighed. But, as she had passed along the Blue Star to the next Guardian it was her duty to find others and tutor them to their new found powers.

...Like a massive dragon the size of a mountain would ever notice the increase unless they housed a massive Fragment...

She walked in and instantly sensed the other power in the cavern. "What do you want? To plunder? I sense magical armor, god-touched weaponry. I will not be an easy fight."

"I did not come to fight," she began. "I came seeking Icingdeath the Paragon White Dragon of Tiamat."

"And how would you know about _that_?" the massive white gold eyes opened in surprise.

"Come across a danger that even you yourself did not understand, and yet still survive?" asked Marion. "I see the mark... and here I thought that it just might be possible for the Scroll of the Fragment could be mistaken..."

"What are you on about?" the White Dragon asked. "_Shirak_."

The cavern lit and Marion looked up at the White Dragon. Indeed, it had not been a trick of the light. The Dragon had gold eyes. Marion sighed and put one hand on her hip and looked at her list, and then nodded her head again. "Are you an unusually powerful dragon, even for one of your kind?"

"Well, yes," answered the Dragon in puzzlement. "I am a paragon, the perfect son of Tiamat."

"I meant even beyond that, beyond what you could explain?"

The Dragon thought a moment, "Sometimes I wonder. But I _am_ a Paragon."

"Indeed," agreed Marion. "I can see where it could be that as well. Tell me, are your morals, your ethos a bit different than your brothers and sisters in the draconic species?"

The Dragon simply looked at her, "I would certainly guess so. I am talking to you instead of eating you, you know."

"That could be due to my armor and weaponry as they are heavily enchanted," she answered drily. "But you have a point. You also seem more intelligent. Yes... yes, I think the list is correct. You are far more that you even give yourself credit for, and someday I may tell you what that is exactly. Perhaps another will, another bearing a gift that is both curse and blessing, your true nature along with a heavy responsibility that will perversely also bring near endless power. My question is; _will you be ready for it?"_

The Dragon groaned and covered his head with his claw. "Oh, I recognize you now. You're the Miiro, a Guardian of the Blue Star. The prisoner I guard just retreated to the back of her cell. Let me tell you, my Lady, I am not the one you seek. I have enough responsibility making sure she doesn't make it back into any of the worlds out there! I don't need _that_ added to it all."

Marion let the scroll close with a snap, "It's not my place to ask whether or not you _want_ it. When it comes time, I simply ask if you will be _ready_ to receive it should it come down to you. Perhaps by then the Blue Star will again be in the sky and we as Fragments will no longer walk the planes, but be Avatars as we should. But, as you are _still_ a Fragment, this choice _will_ still come down to you. Run if you like, but you and I are brother and sister in this. Farewell, Icingdeath."

With that Marion disappeared. The White Dragon let his head hit the ground, "Just what I needed..."

* * *

_The Miiro was a God of the Greater Balance, he was brother (or sister, no one really truly knows...) of Chaos and Law, son (or daughter) of the High God of all creation. It was early in creation that these three came into being, then the High God called the other Gods and through Law and Chaos all the Gods of the Multiverse came to be. At this, the High God saw his grandchildren and withdrew. Law and Chaos took over his position, with Miiro, the Balance, as mediator._

_Eventually, the other Gods all split off into their own respective families and the worlds were born. Law saw to it that everything happened in its time and where it should where Chaos set about causing everything that she had built usually went wrong after he touched it. Many worlds were nearly destroyed, one becoming a near permanent desert. Finally Law grew impatient, then angry at her sibling. In the Dome of Creation, she set about to destroy Chaos once and for all. Using surprise, she cast her most powerful spell at Chaos, set upon killing him in a murderous rage._

_However, one stepped in between, knowing that without one the other could not exist. And without either, all creation could never continue._

_Miiro, the Greater Balance took the brunt of the destructive spell and was shattered across the cosmos, fragments of the God born into living beings on many different worlds and planes of existence so scattered he had become. Only one Fragment, the largest and most powerful one, was able to be tracked down and sealed within a blue sapphire, the _Blue Star_._

_Chaos took damage, but as Miiro had taken the brunt, survived albeit wounded. It was perhaps that at this point the God Reorx of Krynn trapped him in the Graygem (but there is no concrete way to know...). After seeing her siblings destroyed and imprisoned, Law also withdrew, but kept a peripheral watch on the going ons of the other Gods._

_And so was the beginning even before the Gods._

* * *

Astinus looked up from the beginning entries of the first chronicle in the Tobril, then looked at the book he wrote in. "Everything that has a beginning must have an end," he whispered.

* * *

In Palanthas a small party of four people, all gathered from the four most distance places in space and time looked at each other across the inn table. One was rather normal, although according to both the Aurak draconian and the large minotaur, she didn't smell right. She appeared to be Silvanesti Elven, but they both when they had met the cleric of Habbakuk had come to the same conclusion that she was not an elf. The Aurak knew she was not of any of the draconian kind, not that his kind would take a female elven body as their form, but could not place the smell. The minotaur could not place it either. She was a graceful elf with the fair golden hair that her kind was well known for, as well as the almond shaped green eyes. She was rather pretty if how the rest of the male population, and some of the female, reacted to her presence. Her name was Windstar (which, if the draconian knew anything of elves, was not a Silvanesti name...)

The other was also elven, but none of the other three (including the Silvanesti) and ever seen her kind before. The minotaur was convinced she had taken a hard knock on her head as she claimed to be from someplace called the 'Underdark', Rilueven to be exact. Her name was Zi-Xha, a Bard of the House of Ravennae in Rilueven. Then again, considering that she had obsidian black skin, stark white hair and violet eyes, she could very well be from this other world she claimed to be from.

Then it came to the minotaur. He stood well over ten feet tall where the average minotaur was only about six or sometimes seven feet. His name was Yz, which, as the 'Qualinesti' Bard liked to point out, was pronounced 'Wise', even if he wasn't.

The Aurak, Xan, was the most recent addition to the group and besides the minotaur the most dangerous.

The four looked around as they took inventory of what they had for spending money and the Bard relayed what she had learned. Yz looked up and asked, "You didn't sing that silly ballad about Drizzitt again, did you?"

"Drizzt," she corrected. "No, I did not. I learned that lesson in Porliost when the Silvanesti ran us out. But then again, I should have expected that from mere _darthiir_. No offense, Windstar."

"None taken," came the quiet Silvanesti cleric's answer. "I find the tale fascinating, if far-fetched. But who can say what exists and what isn't. Only the Gods know."

"Do you think we'll see Palin again?" asked Xan.

"Likely not," said Zi-Xha. "He seemed distracted when we rescued him."

The group went back to their thinking.

* * *


	12. Divided Attention

**A/N**: I gave the full truth in bits and pieces, but now the answers come out...

I also made Usha a bit stronger than she was in the books. Her whiny-ness needed a tune up.

* * *

Chapter Ten   
Divided Attention

* * *

Raistlin awoke again to another room although not one nearly as well appointed as the last. In fact... it was more like a prison cell made for high ranking personage than a room. Checking the door to find it locked confirmed it, as well as the small window cut high into the wall that also sported a set of thick steel bars. He sighed. Likely he was some other Nightlord's prize now. He walked back to the thin cot and sat on it as it was the only furniture in the room other than the small table and chair.

The room had a cloistered feeling and Raistlin found himself drumming his fingers in impatience after the first hour of waiting. Finally the door clicked as someone used the key to open it and swung open. Two grey robed wizards, a black robed cleric and Lord Ariakan walked in. "For a while I thought you had forgotten about me," remarked Raistlin.

"Hardly," snorted Ariakan. "More like trying to figure out what to do with you after you murdered our last Nightlord."

"Murdered?" Raistlin repeated. "She captured me, forced me to her room, then when my Sight took over touched my shoulder. Please excuse me, but it is hardly my fault when I react to a threat after I begin to come out of a Sight induced dream."

Ariakan seemed to muse on this, then he said, "I rather suspected that to be the case when I consulted with the new Nightlord and our Lord of Skulls. It was not the Vision, I know, but I am still curious as to what your Sight told you."

"As you should be," agreed Raistlin. "Chaos has returned and sworn his vengeance on his children's creation to punish their 'disobedience'. Unless we stop this silly war between you and the Solamnics, and everyone else, all of creation will be destroyed."

Ariakan's eyebrows looked like they were almost part of his scalp, so high had they climbed. He turned to the Lord of Skulls and asked, "Does this ring true to you?"

"No and yes," said the High Cleric of Takhisis. "No, given the source. Yes, given it would explain the Vision's recent muddiness. But there is no proof. My suggestion is to send Lord Majere with an escort to Palanthas, to his Tower and into the Abyss. Either that will bring us ultimate victory when our Dark Queen enters Krynn, or the answer as he says when the answer comes from the Gods themselves."

"Excuse me," interjected Raistlin. "Do I get a say on the matter at all?"

Lord Ariakan nodded in thought. "It is not the most well thought out plan I have heard. A bit thin I would say. Who would go with him if I agree?"

"His own nephew, Steel Brightblade," suggested the Nightlord.

"Sir Brightblade?" Ariakan narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "I heard the last Nightlord suggest him, and only because I am sure that she thought he would fail and in that way I would be forced to put him to death. How do I know this is not the same trick?"

Raistlin sighed and leaned back against the wall, although taking in the entire argument, but he pointed out, "In case you have forgotten, only a white robe cleric and a black robe wizard can open the portal to the Abyss. After the _last_ attempt, no white robe cleric will _ever_ help me do that, no matter the reason."

Ariakan nodded, "Yes, a rather useless attempt, doomed to failure. Like the last time I heard a Nightlord suggest it, like she wanted it to fail."

"...Which she did, my Lord," admitted the Nightlord. "I do not want it to fail. But it is the last resort we have. With the Vision muddied beyond understanding, it is the only chance we have."

Raistlin closed his eyes, and saw an open portal. Opening them again, he said, "I'll do it, but not for you nor your Dark Queen. I will do it to prove what I say is the truth because only in proving it will you believe me and do as I suggest."

The cleric and the wizards left, and Ariakan made a move to leave, but stopped and turned to him, "You could have teleported out with your nephews, I understand. And, judging by the damage done in the former Nightlord's chambers, you could have beaten all the brutes and our Knights with what spells you have left. Why allow yourself to be taken, because I know you did."

Raistlin stood and walked over to Ariakan, "If you knew that the only way a message that would save millions of others could be delivered was to be captured, as distasteful capture is, would you?"

Ariakan thought for a moment, then understanding dawned, "You knew you would brought to me first."

"Actually, I didn't," admitted Raistlin. "I had a pretty good hunch that you would want to meet me, but I did not know for sure. Either way, I had to tell someone with enough honor that they would not be able to stand idle while they knew destruction for all was coming. You, fortunately, were not the only person."

"Steel," breathed Ariakan.

Raistlin nodded, "I knew that if I told my nephew Steel he would be sure to tell you. Whether or not you and he believed the message was secondary. Proof would have come soon enough that you would have hopefully had enough time to prepare for a war with far more purpose than the one you fight now."

* * *

Dalamar emerged from the teleportation from Wayreth in the central chambers (that, before the Cataclysm had been the Conclave chambers) of the Tower in Palanthas. Jenna was waiting for him, her class long since dismissed. She allowed herself to enveloped into his arms and submitted willingly to his kisses as he trailed from her mouth and down her neck. A few moments later, she pulled back and said, "I didn't call you back for that, although I do wish I did."

"Oh?" he asked, his eyebrows lifting in surprise. "And here I thought you called me back to cheer me..."

"Oh, it all depends on how you take this," she answered. "I remember you saying about a year back that you wished you had a key to take over the Tower once and for all. I think I found it."

His eyebrows truly lifted, "You killed Raistlin Majere?"

"Oh no!" she laughed. "As far as I know, the Dark Knights still hold him captive." She turned mischievous, "Let's just say a legend we all thought a lie is perhaps true. I have someone you may want to meet..."

Jenna led him up the spiral staircase to a dining room that he usually reserved for high ranking guests in the Tower, as seldom as it happened it never hurt to be prepared, and opened the door where a young woman waited, leaning on the sill. She turned around upon his entrance and he found himself speechless in shock. Jenna smirked, "Dalamar, this is Usha of Selesia. Lady Usha, this is Master Dalamar."

Dalamar managed to rein in his shock at the sight of Usha. The young woman looked about perhaps twenty to twenty five years old, but that was not what had surprised Dalamar. It was her hair and eyes; her eyes were a shade that were unmistakably a metallic gold, like Raistlin's, and her hair was platinum silver white (again, reminding Dalamar of his _Shalafi_...). Her skin was far paler, but was still possessing a distinctive golden tint. "All the Gods of Krynn," he whispered, then recovered. "Lady Usha, an honor."

She nodded cooly, seemingly unaffected by his surprise. Then again, mused Dalamar, given how distinctively _unique_ she looked she was probably well used to the reaction. "You are Dalamar?" she asked, and he noticed the peculiar, but not unattractive accent to her soft voice. She handed him a scroll with a stylized but graceful bold sigil that sealed it. "I bear a message from the Protector of the Irda."

Dalamar sucked in breath. Well, so that part of the legend happened to be true to form as well. It was strange as she also held no claim. Perhaps... she didn't know? He took the scroll and opened it, noticing that it was more than a few pages long, and began to read it with a short, but polite, "Thank you, my Lady."

Jenna began to ask the subtle questions while Dalamar was listening, but still reading, "So, Lady Usha, was your journey long? Is this your first time to Palanthas?"

"It was... long enough," she answered. "And it is my first trip to Ansalon. I have never left Selesia before now. If there was a time when I was not on the Isle of the Irda, I do not remember it."

Dalamar and Jenna looked up at this, and Dalamar asked in stunned disbelief, "You've never been off the island?"

Usha shook her head, "There was no need, and I was too young to leave. I didn't really want to, but the Decider thought that it was best if I delivered the message to you and no other. I am not too sure why, however..."

At that she turned her attention back to the window. Dalamar looked at Jenna in surprise, and Jenna was equally surprised. Dalamar had a sneaky suspicion on _why_ Usha had been chosen, but until he was sure he was not going to voice it. It would likely scare her away and if it proved true Dalamar had a use for the young woman. He smiled as he read the Protector's letter. As he read, soon the smile fell off and a feeling of dread came over him. For the second time in one night, he swore, "_By all the Gods of Krynn!_"

The two women turned to him and saw his pale face. Dalamar turned to Usha, "When were they planning on cracking the Greygem open?"

"Right after I left," she answered in puzzlement. "I saw the red glow from the island that meant that they succeeded."

Dalamar went to the northwestern window and threw it open to see the red glow in the sky. Cursing again, he handed the scroll to Jenna to read. Her hands flew to her mouth in horror, "How could anyone be so stupid?!"

"I am afraid I don't understand..." pointed out Usha.

Dalamar walked to the mirror of communication and chanted low for a second, then said, "Raistlin Majere."

For a long moment, there was no answer. Dalamar could hear the waterclock, and then he tried again. Still nothing. He slammed a hand against the wall in frustration. "Perhaps he is unable to answer?" mused Jenna.

* * *

For the second time in as many weeks, Raistlin found himself on dragonback. This time, he did not ride as a prisoner, but as a passenger as the quickest of the blues carried him and a Dark Knight to Palanthas.

Once in sight, the dragon slipped down and landed outside of the city walls and out of sight. Steel and Raistlin slipped unseen in the night to the wall. Raistlin pointed out, "There is no way inside now that the cities of Ansalon are expecting your attack."

"There is always a way in so long as you are prepared, Uncle," responded Steel as he walked around to the outer wharf to knock on a door in a set pattern.

A moment later the door slid open for a gnarled old woman, a fishmonger if Raistlin did not miss his guess, to regard them, "I'm closed for the night."

"But the best fish is at night," said Steel. "And the dark moon is high."

The door opened and Steel entered quickly, pulling Raistlin through as he did. The fishmonger closed the door. "The last time I saw you, you were not in the company of one of them," her thumb pointed at Raistlin in disdain. "I didn't think Skull Knights skulked around."

"I am not a Skull Knight," answered Raistlin in equal disdain, his voice barely above a whisper. "I am not a Knight at all."

Steel frowned, "Knight of the Thorn Desdemona Mareht meet the Master of Past and Present, Raistlin Majere."

"A pleasure to see you again, Des," whispered Raistlin with a slight smile.

After Raistlin had betrayed the Companions in the War of the Lance, he had worked with Mareht in Neraka and therefore they went back farther than Steel realized.

Her eyes widened as she recognized him. "By Takhisis's five heads," she whispered, then turned to Steel. "Tell Ariakan the next time you see him that he sure knows how to pick them."

She turned and led them to the back, then pulled up the cellar door, "The route has changed marginally as the Knights nearly found the route. Go left then right instead of what it was before."

Mareht clicked and a large black raven landed on her arm. Touching Raistlin, she got the raven to sit on his shoulder. "Qeris knows the route if you get lost."

With that he and Steel entered the cellar and went from there to the sewers. As they walked Raistlin pointed out, "Using the sewers in this part of the city is risky."

"And why is that?" asked Steel impatiently.

"Because there are undead down here," answered Raistlin and at Steel's shocked look he sighed. "Not too major unless you go further down in the sewers to the old dwarven city that is down there."

Almost as an afterthought and in a whisper he said, "I should know..."

* * *

The four sat in an inn, having just arrived after a harrowing journey from Solanthus. While they attracted a good deal of stares they were left alone for the most part. The minotaur, as it was his job to protect her, kept an eye on the dark-skinned elf bard that was performing on a small raised stage. She was collecting a fair amount of coin. The draconian looked up and asked, "She's got a pretty enough voice, I'll grant her that."

The huge minotaur shrugged his massive shoulders, "She gets a lot of attention where ever we have gone. I think at first it's because she is so exotic she attracts the attention."

"So, do you believe her claim?" asked the cleric they had found in Silvanesti.

"Sometimes I think I might," admitted Yz. "I have to admit that she's handy in a dungeon crawl with her sight. I've never seen anyone who can see that well in pitch darkness."

The Aurak draconian looked up in consternation and Yz amended, "Excuse me, I've never seen an _elf_ with her dark sight before."

The Silvanesti cleric looked up, "That's because we shouldn't. That kind of sight is only for those who spend vast amounts of time underground."

Xan, the draconian, said, "Like this 'Underdark' she pines so much about?"

The other two looked at him blandly and the cleric sipped her tea again. "So, what are we going to do next?"

"I have no idea," mused the draconian. "It all depends on where the songbird wants to go. After all, we're her guardians."

The minotaur snorted at this. It was a well known fact that if not for the presence of the two elves, as unusual the so-called Drow was, that the minotaur and the draconian would have been either jailed or executed in a great many places and many times over.

Shortly thereafter there was a scuffle outside that the Silvanesti heard through the window she sat by and told the other two about. As they went outside and into the alley where Windstar had heard the scuffle, they heard, "That damn crow bit me!"

"It's a small bite," chided a deeper voice.

The second seemed to sigh deeply, "Let's just get going."

They walked out to see the three standing there. For a moment, the draconian, minotaur and Silvanesti stared at the Dark Knight and the Black Robe wizard. The wizard, on his left ear, sported an openly bleeding wound that was clearly a bite mark. For a moment the two unusual groups stared at each other. Steel began to draw his sword, but the wizard stay his hand with a gesture, and turning to the bard's group asked, "You aren't going to report this, are you?"

"It depends on," answered Yz. "What in the name of Paladine are you doing here?"

The Dark Knight slid his sword back in his sheath, "None of your business, minotaur."

"Wait just a second!" protested the Black Robe. "I may be your prisoner still, but it is my right to warn people of the grave danger all of Krynn is in."

The draconian looked from the Dark Knight to the Wizard, but it was Yz, who had dreams of following in his hero Kaz's footsteps, who asked the Wizard, "You are this man's prisoner?"

"Yes," answered the Knight. "We captured him in Kalaman when he teleported his Solamnic Knight nephews away."

Yz drew his sword, and Xan held his staff before him while Windstar drew her scimitars. Yz drew himself up to his full height of ten feet and said, "Then I cannot allow you to keep him any longer as it is my duty to free him."

The Dark Knight began to draw his sword but the wizard stepped in between them, "Stop this. We waste time debating semantics. It matters little on whether I am prisoner or not so long as I complete my mission, and for now the Dark Knight is fulfilling that for me."

Yz creased his brows, and Windstar asked, "You do not say this out of duress, sir?"

"No, I do not," answered the wizard. "You have my word as a Majere on that."

Yz and the cleric sheathed their weapons and Xan asked, "A Majere?"

In awe, Yz said, "Yeah, and if I'm not mistaken by the black robes, he's Raistlin Majere."

The Black Robe inclined his head slightly, "You are not mistaken at all. I could escape the Dark Knight at any time, but I choose not to because I have need of him. Besides, he is my nephew as well. It would pain me to see him killed over my own freedom."

"Majere, you waste time talking to them," said the Dark Knight. "We must continue or we risk discovery."

Raistlin nodded in agreement and said to the other group, "Perhaps we will meet again."

With that the two disappeared into the gloom and the three looked at each other in surprise. Even Xan had heard of Raistlin Majere and he said, "Too bad the bard wasn't able to meet them. That would have made for an interesting tale..."

* * *

Raistlin led Steel through Palanthas and past as many of the patrols as he could until they had to dart onto a lawn and behind a tree to avoid another. Raistlin noticed with slight amusement that Steel appeared very uncomfortable hiding. Perhaps his honor was getting in the way. A few moments later he learned the real reason when a low voice asked, "Who is there?"

Raistlin turned in surprise to regard the large white tiger and its ward, the Revered Daughter Crysania. They were on the grounds of the Temple of Paladine. _Strange_, he mused. _I don't seem to be as comfortable as Steel_...

Then again, he had never even _noticed_ entry onto the grounds. He was neither comforted nor made uncomfortable. "Revered Daughter," greeted Raistlin.

"Raistlin..." she breathed. "We heard word that Kalaman fell and that you, again, sacrificed yourself for the good of your family and of others. I never thought you had lived through it."

"He nearly didn't had he not _surrendered_ when he did, madam," interjected Steel softly. "His capture was fortunate for us."

"Surrendered?" her brows creased, then she drew in a breath. "You are a prisoner of the Dark Knights. That is the darkness I sense with you: a Knight of Takhisis."

Raistlin sighed, and nodded, then remembered that she was blind and said, "Yes, Crysania. I am still a prisoner of the Dark Knights."

"But you are still here?"

"He is required to open the Portal to the Abyss, otherwise he will be sacrificed to our Dark Queen for his betrayal," answered Steel coldly. "As he has repeatedly told us, unless he has help there is no way he can do so and it is likely that this will be the last time you see him in this life."

Crysania swallowed, "Raistlin?"

"It's true."

She looked down at the ground, "You mean to ask the same of me as you did before."

"No," said Raistlin. "Our coming here was accidental as we were trying to avoid the patrols."

She looked up with horror on her features. "You mean you were going to accept your fate as a sacrifice?! I cannot allow it. Please... let me..."

Raistlin held her shoulders and sighed as he kissed her softly on her lips. She could tell by the way it was that he was doing it to memorize every detail as if it would be the last time he would ever do it. "Crysania," he whispered as he simply held her. "Forget me and move on. I cannot let you be hurt again by asked the same thing I asked over twenty years ago when we walked through the portal the first time... I will not. If it is to be that I die this day on the edge of a sword in sacrifice to prevent Her entry, then let it be."

Finally he released her and backed away. Tears flowed down her cheeks, "Raistlin..."

"The last time I said this I left you for dead, this time let me say it so that you may live," he said. "Good bye Crysania. Live on without me and find happiness."

With that Steel turned and left, the patrols long since passed on. They walked through the streets until they reached the Shoikan Grove. Raistlin stood there for a long time remembering the last time he had walked through the Grove when he had taken the tower as his own. Steel stood there, locked in fear due to the magic that permeated it. Finally Raistlin stepped foot in the grove and a thin path showed itself. Steel followed his Uncle through the Grove.

Finally they reached the Gate and Raistlin pushed it open and then heard the ringing sound of the mage alarms going off. Cursing, he said, "That's the last thing I wanted was attention paid to this task."

"Or perhaps you planned it this way," snarled Steel. "There is no way into the Abyss, and you told Lord Ariakan that you had no intention on dying. I think you tricked me, Uncle."

Raistlin lifted a brow, "You think so little of a Majere's honor?"

"I think little of a Black Robe's honor, Uncle!" Steel drew his sword on Raistlin.

"I would put that sword back in its sheath, Dark Knight," came Dalamar's voice. "The Guardians of the Tower may take that as a threat on their Master."

A few moments later the courtyard was filled with spectral minions, mostly surrounding Raistlin, but also surrounding Steel. For a long tense moment, it seemed that Steel would lunge for his uncle but finally Steel sheathed the sword and the minions disappeared. "That's better," said Raistlin. "Now, if you would simply listen to reason, I had every intention on following through on my word, whether or not it came to my death. I rather hope it doesn't though."

"I am beginning to wonder," snarled Steel. "Now, let's get this over with."

Raistlin inclined his head and led Steel into the Tower with Dalamar close on his heels, "_Shalafi_, before you do whatever you have to do with this Knight, may I take a moment of your time?"

Pausing for a second, Raistlin regarded Dalamar, "What is it?"

"I think you should read this," Dalamar handed him a scroll and watched as Raistlin read it once, then twice, then three times to make sure it was what he thought he read.

Handing the scroll back to Dalamar, "I rather suspected something like that had happened."

Steel looked from one to the other, "I don't understand."

Taking a deep breath and releasing in a sigh, Raistlin answered, "It is as I told your Lord Ariakan. Chaos, Father of the Gods, has been released from his prison. I was just not sure on how it occurred."

"Now you are?" asked Steel.

"Oh yes," answered Raistlin, turning to Dalamar. "How long ago did you receive this?"

"Just yesterday, _Shalafi_," answered Dalamar. "Do you know what it means?"

"Yes," answered Raistlin. "Unless we can defeat Chaos, all of creation will be destroyed. Krynn is not the only world in danger, but all others as well."

There was a long moment of silence as the other two men digested this information. "And you would know this how?" asked Steel.

"Because I am Guardian to a trust, of an artifact that could be key in hisdefeat," said Raistlin. "Or in the least, his reimprisonment. But it still remains to be seen what the Gods will want done, what plans they may have and how we can all assist in that plan for to survive we will have to."

"What artifact is this?" asked Dalamar in sudden interest.

"One that you could never bear unless you make some very interesting changes in your life," remarked Raistlin drily. "As it was, it was nearly stripped from me but necessity threw me back in the game."

"Necessity?" asked the two.

"No one else could bear it, and my predecessor has other responsibilities," answered Raistlin.

Dalamar remarked, "I think I missed something here, but I think a follow in general."

"Indeed, you did, Apprentice," mused Raistlin. "I carry an artifact called the Blue Star, the symbol and essence of the Shattered God, and the Greater Balance of Law and Chaos. In short, that makes me something called a Miiro."

Raistlin watched his apprentice's eyes go wide in surprise and say, "That's what Gilthanas meant by when he said that you said on the wall of Kalaman, 'We have no time for this'. You meant the war between the Dark Knights and Solamnia. You knew Chaos had been released."

Raistlin and explained, "Precisely, and if Gilthanas was there, Tanin probably told you that upon being in sight of Kalaman, I collapsed and when I got there I began to convulse. The moment I collapsed was the moment Chaos was released. My seizure was the moment he awoke and burned the isle of the Irda to nothing but a charred rock. In that moment, my still mortal body nearly was killed when the Blue Star began to channel the other Fragments through me. No mortal, while still a mortal, can ever be a God. Our frail bodies cannot handle it, that I realized in the Abyss when I challenged the Dark Queen. I am particularly blessed, or cursed, depending on how you see it, to be able to be a little more than mortal, but not fully a God as no greater God can stand on any prime material plane without ripping the very fabric of time and space to shreds."

"And that's what happened on the Isle of the Irda," breathed Dalamar. "By all the Gods of Krynn..."

"We had better hope that they have a plan..." mused Raistlin as they continued up the stairs.

None of them noticed the woman who followed the sound of their voices, her face growing paler with every word of Raistlin's explanation. She had followed, worried for Raistlin and not wanting him to offer up his life too early. After he had left the garden of Paladine, an old man with a ratty hat had told her that unless she followed, Raistlin would be killed at the end of Steel Brightblade's sword and his purpose would not come to pass as it was not his time.

Now, she was more worried for all the people of Krynn.

The white tiger, Tandar, led the blind Crysania up the stairs far enough behind the three men that they could not see her but close enough that when Raistlin opened the door of the lab that she could run inside before the door was closed.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, they stopped and she heard the heavy oak door creak open. Tandar led her up the stairs and past two astonished faces. Tandar knocked the Dark Knight aside and Crysania leapt up the last step and into the lab as the door closed behind her. She knew that neither Dalamar and the Knight had entered with her as they had been stopped by Tandar.

For a long moment all she could hear was her own ragged breathing and the sound of the waterclock. She could not hear Raistlin at all, nor any other sound out of the ordinary. Finally, he spoke in his usual whisper, although she caught the clear dismay, "Why didn't you listen to me?"

"I nearly did," she stated. "But a mutual friend told me that unless I came you would die by Steel's hand, and it was by far not your time yet."

"A mutual friend?" he asked in vague confusion.

"An old man by the name of Fizban?" she asked lightly.

She heard him groan, and the slight creak of wood as he leaned on the chair. It was strange, although she could no longer see, she could still place where everything was in the lab and by listening almost see what he was doing. Walking up to him, she said, "Think of it this way. Where as before you did it in defiance of the Gods, now we do it with the Gods blessing."

"Crysania," he began, "I can sense that Chaos in somewhere in the Abyss. That makes the place a least a hundred times more dangerous than it was the last time. What if I can't protect you?"

She held his hand, and was pleased when he did not pull away, "Then it is my time, and if I have to die, then at least let me do it standing and in service of the Gods and to protect all of creation."

He gave her hand a squeeze as he led her to the Portal and pulled off the shroud. "What the..." he said in shock.

"What is it?" she asked. "Is it not still here?"

"It is, but it is already open," he said, putting his hand through the Portal to the Abyss. "It looks as if the attention of all the Gods are already elsewhere..."


	13. The Dilemma of the Gods

A/N: Yeris finally seriously sticks her foot in her mouth...

* * *

Chapter Eleven   
The Dilemma of the Gods

* * *

Crysania stood there in stunned silence as she digested what Raistlin had just said. "Open?"

She heard him sigh, a sound she had learned to listen for when things were not quite going his way. It was not that he was prone to sighs, but there were times when she could clearly hear the exhale probably meant as one. Even when they had been back in time while in Istar and some of the Kingpriest's clerics had annoyed him (which, she had to admit, had never taken much), she often heard the slight exhale that was a bit deeper than his usual. It wasn't by far a complete sigh that others did where everyone knew that they had sighed, but subtle. Much like the man himself.

Crysania shook herself out of the reverie, again catching herself noticing the little things about him. A small smile graced her lips. She wondered how many people actually bothered to notice these little mundane things, these little human things, about Raistlin Majere. Caramon had often missed them and she was positive that was why Raistlin had felt smothered. Perhaps Caramon had missed an ever so subtle sigh that meant perhaps Raistlin just wanted to be alone to his thoughts, a subtle sigh meaning pain, another for actually needing help. Crysania had learned to listen, and she had heard at least five distinctly different sighs all meaning different things with Raistlin, as if he didn't speak so much as use his breathing to communicate.

"What?" came his voice.

"Hmm?"

"You're smiling at me again, that same little smile you always have when you know something I don't," he pointed out.

In a way, on the flip side of the coin, Raistlin had learned when they were back in time during the Dwarfgate war the different set of her lips. Granted, his attention had just been on her lips, her face, her nose... and other parts of her that he could enjoy without his hourglass eyes that he had not noticed before. One of those features was the different smiles, this one was a small half smile where she was thinking something.

"Just thinking," she said.

"What about this time?"

"You. Me," she answered. "Us in general."

A part of Raistlin shriveled in abject terror. He had heard tales upon tales from Caramon and other men about what a woman was actually thinking with the statement 'Us in general'. While he agreed in that there was quite a bit to be said, but there was no time now...!

As if she had read his mind, "If what you said on the stairs to Dalamar and your nephew is true, then now is the time. Too much has been left unsaid for it to be left for too late. If we wait, it just may be."

He found himself unable to argue with her logic, and he agreed, "I see your point. Crysania... I..."

She touched his lips, "Let me go first if you find yourself so tongue tied."

"No, because then people would say I was only telling you want you wanted to hear if I let you," he pointed out, and she nodded her agreement, then looked up at him in surprise, the full meaning hitting her. Why was it when he was using her, the words came so easy? "Crysania... I... dammit. Look, I'm not the best at this."

She took his hands, "I am sure that I know by now that you are an emotionally blunt person. Say what is on your mind."

"It isn't my mind that's in question here," he answered tersely. "And that's the problem. I can speak what's on my mind quite easily, thank you. We all know that. It's what is on my heart."

There was no answer for this, it wasn't required. Raistlin looked up and said, "Look Crysania, when I met you all I saw was what my eyes saw, you aging and dying before me. I told you the ugly truth. What I didn't tell you is that for as old as you appeared, I did not see you decay. I saw you blossom into an old woman that I want to grow old with."

For a moment, she had tears in her eyes, then her eyes went wide again. "Grow old with?!"

He smiled, even though he knew she couldn't see it. "Yes. I want to grow old with you, at your side. If you will let me, perhaps even father children with you. Can you even let me after all I've done to you, however? Would you allow me to even consider marriage?"

Tears of a different sort were running down her face. He sighed again, "There, I've spoken what I truly feel and want, but was too stupid to actually say when I had the chance."

"Yes."

It was so soft he wasn't sure he had heard it, and he looked up, "What?"

"Yes," she spoke louder, firmly. "Yes, I will marry you."

He blinked in surprise at the answer. For most of his life he had been too often rejected to even dream of hearing the answer that she had just given him. An unfamiliar, but not unwelcome, feeling spread through his being. It was as if he had drunk too much fine elven wine too fast and then stood up too quickly, as well as a warmth throughout his being. For once he would not be the one on the sidelines watching the others have all the happiness, for once he would not be laughed at by others as they watched him be rejected by the other girls for his brother.

This time around, it was him who won the girl.

* * *

Dalamar led Steel silently down the stairs, followed by the white tiger Tandar. Once Steel was at the door, Dalamar said, "Your army marches on the High Clerist Tower, but I fear you go home in shame, Dark Knight. You have failed in your mission."

"That as much I know," said Steel as he glared at the unapologetic tiger. "Don't worry, cat, I will see you again and next time you will not be guarded simply because you guard the Lady Crysania."

If it were possible, the tiger might have actually shrugged its indifference. As it was, Steel was sure that in some feline fashion it had. Dalamar chanted a few words and the Knight of Takhisis disappeared from sight. Then he turned on the white tiger, "I don't suppose you have an explanation, Valin."

The tiger looked at Dalamar cooly, _Should I? Crysania had a vision sent to her by Paladine that told her that she must do precisely as she did_. _I never would been able to stop her had I even tried_.

"You do realize that she will likely never profess her undying love for you with him still walking upon Krynn," snarled Dalamar.

_Are you suggesting I help you off your own _Shalafi_? Dalamar, polymorphed I may be into this form, but evil like you I am not. No, I suspect that Raistlin is actually being honorable in his intentions for once. And if it makes her happy_... the tiger sat on its hunches. _Then there are worse things to be than a cat_. _You know, I _could_ always be his familiar_....

At this the tiger actually smiled, showing a toothy grin that looked more like he was going to bite off Dalamar's arm. Dalamar paled at the suggestion. "Then again I could always polymorph you to something else entirely. Enough," he grunted in thought. "I was actually hoping he would be sacrificed to our Dark Queen."

_From the sound of it, it would have mattered little_, pointed out Tandar. _From the sound of it he had been chasing after something he always was- A God. Ironic, no?_

Dalamar gasped as he turned to regard the tiger's intelligent eyes. By all the Gods of Krynn, the damn tiger was right. By even being able to challenge Takhisis, he had proven the one thing that would give most of the Conclave bouts of gas- Raistlin was already a God. No mortal could actually challenge a God on their own plane unless they were also a God of equal or greater power. It was so... simple... that Dalamar blinked a great number of times as the full implications hit him. If that were true, whether Raistlin was a proclaimed renegade or not, he just wasn't bound by the laws of mortals! Dalamar let a long string of curses loose while the tiger watched in bemusement. Raistlin had never needed to challenge the Dark Queen for his own godhood. Oh, it was ironic, certainly.

"I wonder if he knows that?"

_I doubt it_, Tandar pointed out. _If he had he would have never bothered. No, he still thinks he's being yanked around by the different God's whims when in fact, if you bothered listening to your own _Shalafi_, it is his own subconscious calling out to him. And he doesn't even _realize_ it!_

"Which makes him vulnerable as a mortal still," breathed Dalamar.

_Well, duh_, Tandar rolled his eyes. _He doesn't believe he's a God, but once he does know_...

Dalamar ran towards his own lab and Tandar watched in puzzlement, _Was it something I said_?

* * *

Gilthanas watched the flurry of activity outside the window as the wizards walked back and forth from tower to tower, leaning on the frame as he did so. Tanin looked over at him, looked at the Staff of the Magius, then back to Gilthanas again, "What is it?"

"They are expecting something," said Gilthanas. "I'm not sure on what, though..."

* * *

Caramon had finally reached Solace. He had declined Tanis' offer of company home. It was better if he told Tika the truth about Palin before she heard it from somewhere, or someone else. He wasn't relishing the thought of a frying pan in reach, but he knew from the activity in the bustling inn that she was in the kitchen. He smiled at Dezra as he walked in. They had named their youngest daughter after her and never regretted it.

Tika looked up and, when she saw that none of her sons were with him, her brows knit. "Dezra, take over," she said simply, and Dezra did with a sad expression on her face.

The two women probably thought that if Caramon had returned without his sons, as he had sworn he would not do until he found them, then the news was not good. Tika followed him to their private and shared rooms that served as their apartment. Tika put her hands on her robust husband's lower arms and kissed him lightly on the lips, "It's good to see you, love."

"I've missed you," said Caramon heavily. "Tika, you may want to sit down."

She did, "Oh no, don't tell me this. Not now."

"I found them," said Caramon. "They were returning from a mission, well, sort of. They had been kidnapped into a mission, which they completed."

Tika's eyes widened, then she leaned back in the upholstered chair with a huge sigh of relief. "Thank the Gods," she breathed, but saw that Caramon still hadn't smiled yet. "What is it?"

"It's about Palin..."

"What color is his robes?" she asked warily.

"He's... ah... well...."

"He _is_ alive?" she asked pointedly, and when her husband looked down at the floor she put her head in her hands. "How?"

"During his Test."

She looked up, her brows knit into a confused line. "What?! But... but... he recovered here. I kissed him in _congratulations_. If it wasn't Palin... **_OH NO_**! You can't be serious."

Caramon nodded, "I'm afraid I am. It was my brother, Raistlin, the entire time."

She stood up and began to pace, "Why that sneaky, underhanded... that SNEAK!!"

"He didn't mean it that way..."

"Oh, then how in the Abyss did he mean it?" she held up her hand. "Speaking of which, _how_ did he even manage it?"

Caramon sighed deeply again, then began to tell his wife the tale of how her brother in law escaped the Abyss...

* * *

Raistlin and Crysania walked through the Portal, this time a different aim in mind. Raistlin frowned in concern. The Abyss was strangely and eerily silent. They began walking in the direction that, when held, the Blue Star glowed the brightest. Raistlin watched as the abyssal plain changed marginally to come to show a massive mountain. He helped Crysania climb as a set of blue stairs appeared.

Something within Raistlin answered the call of the stairs, and with her hand in the crook of his arm, they began to climb the stairs. He wasn't sure how long it took but once at the top they found a Temple. He led her within, knowing that the last time he had been here this had not been part of the local geography.

Another part of him, where the instinctive knowledge lay, told him that is was because they were no longer within the Abyss. They entered the coliseum and he helped her to a place where they were not seen. He recognized all of the Gods present, as well as a few he did not know. But again, some part of him knew who they were and identified them as Gods of other worlds.

"Order!" called Gilean. "I understand if we are all rather disturbed and alarmed by this turn of events, but without order we will not have a plan of action, and without such we are all doomed."

"I agree," said a woman, Mystra, the Goddess of Magic on Faerun, the name was supplied by the Blue Star to Raistlin. "Please, let us have order."

The pandemonium quieted, and Raistlin held Crysania's hand tighter, sensing her awe at knowing that all the Gods were in one room. They listened, and Raistlin supported Crysania as she slept upon his shoulder. Time passed, and still the Gods debated. Finally, the Blue Star began to flare, and Raistlin gently laid down Crysania, kissing his hand and laying two fingers on her lips. Getting up, he walked into the midst of the Gods.

The result was silence as one unfamiliar God, Torm, if his memory served, asked Chislev, "Who is this mortal?"

Raistlin answered, "Gods, Goddesses, Demi-Gods and others, my name is Raistlin Majere, Master of Past and Present. The Gods of Krynn, and a few others, already know of me. For those who don't, I am also known as Miiro, a Fragment of the Shattered God and Brother of Chaos. I give you your answer..."

* * *

Crysania woke up a few hours, or, at least, it felt like a few hours later to hear the Gods speak of Chaos, and what the true fate of all the worlds of Creation was. She then saw Raistlin leaving the center of the God's Conclave. When he reached her he took her by the arm and she said, "Raistlin?"

"Hmm?"

"I can see," she pointed out. "Why is that?"

"I have no idea," he said. "Perhaps, it is a gift of the Gods. Perhaps they figure that you will need the advantage in the coming war."

"It is truly that bad?"

He looked at her sadly, "Unfortunately, it is. Many sacrifices will have to be made."

They walked back down the stairs and back to the Portal. Crysania stumbled once and he turned to see skeletal hands reaching up to grasp her and pull her down. He quickly seized her by both hands, "No!"

He was aware of the presence of the Dark Queen before he actually saw her, and without letting go of Crysania, he turned on Takhisis, "Let her go!"

"I am willing to let your transgressions pass, Miiro," her five heads shrieked in triumph. "But I will keep her so that you remember to hold up to your end of the bargain you made!"

"What bargain?" asked Crysania. "What is she talking about?"

Raistlin pressed his lips together until they formed a thin line, "I held that end up! It was not my fault if he was not brave enough to enter the lab in the end!"

"I speak of releasing me, Raistlin," the five headed dragon disappeared to be replaced by the Dark Warrior. "I shall release her if you release me. Freedom for freedom, or shackles for shackles. I leave it up to you."

Crysania paled, "No, don't do it...."

Raistlin looked from where he just barely kept Crysania from sinking into the dust of the Abyss, and to the Dark Queen. He closed his eyes and kissed Crysania on the lips, and heard her whisper, "Paladine will protect me, but there will be no protection if you allow her to enter Krynn for anybody with both her and Chaos..."

Raistlin opened his eyes and turned to the Dark Queen, "I'll do it."

Even though she wasn't appearing as the dragon, he could hear five voices shriek in triumph even as he heard Crysania crying into his robe. The hands released Crysania and Raistlin helped her to her feet. With his arm supporting her, and her arm around him, they followed the Dark Warrior to the Portal. Takhisis pointed to the Portal. "Now, release me."

"You first," he said. "You have a nasty habit of breaking your word."

She snarled at this, but allowed him to push Crysania through the portal and to his lab. The Dark Warrior laughed in triumph. "Finally I shall enter the world!" she stepped up the two steps to the shimmering Portal just as the Blue Star began to emit the blinding blue light. "I have a habit of not holding up to my bargains?! What of you?"

A voice that was not Raistlin's, but eerily still was, boomed across the Abyss, "KNEEL BALANCE BREAKER."

The Dark Queen screamed in terror as she was forced to her knees, "Oh, I should have known you would interfere! But you know perfectly well that every time you do, you kill your precious Guardian bit by agonizing bit. I wait for the day when you must find a new Guardian after this shell of yours is burnt out.";

"WAIT FOR A LONG TIME, TAKHISIS," answered the voice of the Miiro. "STAY IN YOUR PLACE WHILE CHAOS IS PUT IN HIS."

A few moments later, Raistlin slumped to the ground. Takhisis, none too gently, threw him through the Portal, shouting, "Enjoy the reprieve... while it lasts."

With that the Portal went dark. Crysania, again bereft of her sight unless it was just that dark in the lab, crawled until she found Raistlin and cradled his limp head in her lap. Finally, with a moan, he came around and murmured, "Where are we?"

"In your lab," she whispered.

"How? When did we get here?"

"You don't remember?!" Crysania, by far, was not going to forget what she had heard during the final moments of the Abyss.

"All I remember is the Dark Queen," he sat bolt upright, groaned from the dizzy spell that caused, then took a deep steadying breath. "I didn't... I didn't release her?"

Crysania could hardly believe it, but was not surprised. Raistlin did not appear to remember manifesting himself as the Miiro, although it was not an experience she would ever forget as long as she lived. "No, you did not... There was some... ah... divine intervention."

He nodded, "So, you were right. Paladine did protect you. I'm glad."

She worried her bottom lip at this and laughed weakly, "The Gods protect their own..."

* * *

A few hours later, Raistlin opened the door to his lab, leaning on the doorjamb as he did so. He could feel a coughing coming on and didn't feel like having it in the hallway. Crysania helped him down the stairs and to his private suite. While it had been a long time since she had been able to see, in a way she did wish that the first thing she had seen had not been his lab.

At least his study and sleeping chamber was a bit more pleasant and less sickening. She helped him lay down and boiled water in a kettle to make his tea for him. He sat up in bed, leaning in the pillows she had fluffed and arranged to make him comfortable. Sipping his tea that loosened his chest and throat, he said, "It has been awhile since I stayed here."

She looked up in surprise. "You mean you haven't since returning to Krynn?"

"No, I woke up in Solace with everyone thinking I was Palin," Raistlin thought back to just over a year ago and how much had changed since then. "With how many people now know I walk Krynn again, everyone is bound to know of Palin's death. My mission, even if I gave it to myself, is a failure."

"You could not have foreseen the current dilemma," she pointed out. "If none of this had happened, no one would know. You would still be Palin, not Raistlin. But... even as much as I miss Palin for never meeting the boy, I am glad we have you back."

"I'm glad to myself back," he said ruefully. "And that's the worst part about it. I never really got a chance to know Palin. I would have liked to..."

They fell into an easy silence and Crysania, noticing that Raistlin was beginning to fall asleep on her, took the empty tea cup from his hands. She took a few of the pillows out from under him so that he could lay down properly. A few minutes later he was deeply asleep. Crysania kicked off her own shoes and slid in beside him, using a few of the pillows for herself. Moments later, she was also asleep.

* * *

Yeris was sitting dejectedly trying to eat breakfast when one of the junior students came up to her and said, "I think your Knight returned and is in his usual room."

She perked up immediately, "Are you sure it's him?"

The apprentice shrugged, as they had not gotten a clear look other than the form that had entered the Master's suites. "Couldn't see him clearly. I only caught motion going in there and a small flash of light off metal."

Yeris took off, climbing the stairs almost two at a time.

Ironically, the apprentice had been honest with her. All he had seen was a form and a small flash of light of metal. Unfortunately, it had been Crysania's silver medallion of faith and the form was not Sturm Majere...

Yeris pushed the outer study door open, noting the dirt on the carpet. Licking her lips in anticipation she then quietly snuck into the sleeping chamber. She stopped when she saw the woman sleeping beside the man obviously not Sturm. Silently she took stock of the situation, noted the black robes draped on the chair, the thin, but handsome, figure of the man laying asleep in the large bed.

Then she recognized him as Palin, Sturm's younger brother and the cleric who slept half on the covers as Crysania, the cleric of Paladine who had gone missing weeks ago. _Curious_, thought Yeris. _The White Robe falls_... Yeris backed out of the room and into another form. Letting a small squeak of surprise loose she turned to the neutral expression on Master Dalamar's face. "Apprentice Black Robe Yeris, an odd place for you to be poking your nose into," he said evenly.

"I thought that Sturm was here..." she explained lamely, knowing that she would have to explain why she would sneak in if Sturm was.

Dalamar merely lifted a brow, "And found my _Shalafi_ instead?"

A part of Yeris' mind went blank in shock. Well, that would explain the Black Robe the wizard had draped on the chair... "That was Raistlin?" she squeaked even quieter.

"Yes, that was," came a whispering voice behind her.

Yeris turned and blinked at the still rather sleepy form of Raistlin who stood there with a simple and loose drawstring pant that he obviously only wore when sleeping, but no tunic or light shirt. Her eyes roved over his body and mused, _He isn't that half bad looking._

It was then when the logical part of her brain caught up, "Don't you have gold skin, gold eyes and white hair?"

Within the time it took to blink, he was suddenly as she described. Except now he leaned nonchalantly against the door frame with his arms crossed. "Now, may I ask why you were sneaking into my bedchamber?"

"She thought you were your nephew," explained Dalamar. "I assure you, _Shalafi_, I will make sure she is punished."

"For what? Trying to surprise a boyfriend?" Raistlin sighed, then said to Yeris. "Don't do it again unless you know for a fact that the person you are looking for is indeed behind these doors, understood?"

Yeris nodded, and Raistlin, turning his attention back to Dalamar and letting the gold tinge of his skin fade into normalcy said, "There is no need to punish her. I trust it won't happen again. I find this more... amusing... than a true disturbance. Reminds me of my sister, had Kitiara ever become a wizard, anyway. Good night."

With that the most powerful wizard in all of Krynn re-entered his bedchamber leaving an astonished Yeris and a slightly bored Dalamar. Dalamar sighed then turned to Yeris, "Don't you have studies to attend to, Apprentice?"

"Oh, yes!" Yeris left so fast that the sound of her rustling robes was all that was left in the room besides Dalamar who stood staring at the bedchamber door with a deep frown on his face.


	14. The Path of Destiny

**A/N**: Kenderling, if you are reading this, when are you going to finish "Growing a Heart"?

* * *

Chapter Twelve   
The Path of Destiny

* * *

Raistlin had fallen back to sleep again. He knew he was asleep, he had to be. There was no other explanation for what he was seeing and hearing.

He found himself in the Dome of Creation again, the place of Gods, only this time he was alone with only a few others he didn't recognize. Well, except for her. Marion Uth Maleste, the one who had originally tracked him down as the new Guardian, and his predecessor. In a way, she had trained him.

The others all carried the mark and were as varied in species and calling as one could get. All were Fragments. They stood loosely in a crowd except for the clear space in the center of them all where they grouped around in a loose circle. In the center of the circle was a space of blue light.

_Who carries the Blue Star?_

Raistlin found himself stepping forward, "I do."

_You know the reason you have been called? What sacrifice must be made for the Greater Balance, and are you willing to give it?_

For a moment Raistlin mulled this over. Sacrifice? A knot formed and he swallowed, but he knew that if he wasn't everything would simply cease to exist. He closed his eyes then opened them with resolution showing in his golden eyes.

"If it means that the Balance is kept, yes," Raistlin answered. "I must or all creation is destroyed."

_Then **wake up**._

"Raistlin, wake up!" called a voice, and he slowly opened his eyes to see Crysania looking down at him in worry as she soothed him. "It's only a bad dream."

Raistlin sat up, the remnants of the dream slipping away, except for the command to wake up. To what? He didn't fully understand. He had a feeling that time was slowing winding down and that if he didn't come to understand that creation was at stake. He shook his head and said, "I think it was more than a bad dream."

Swinging his legs over the side of his bed, he leaned over and put his head in his hands. Crysania moved over to his side of the bed and kneeling behind him on the bed rubbed his back in reassurance even if she did not fully understand what was going on, but she asked, "Does it have anything to do with the Miiro?"

He looked up suddenly in surprise, "How could you know anything about that?"

She worried at her bottom lip, "In the Abyss, when you faced Takhisis, it was not Paladine who saved us. It was you, only you had... ah... transformed into a being of light. She called you 'Miiro' and said that to enjoy the reprieve, while it lasts. You came to after and didn't remember anything. I'm assuming it was because it wasn't... quite... you."

Raistlin stared into the dying embers of the fire with a distressed look on his face. "That's the second time I had a dream, or a vision, telling me to wake up," he told her finally. "That I remember, anyway. Sometimes, I am not sure who I am and what I am supposed to wake up to. But it's linked to this."

He held up his hand and showed her the ring, the Blue Star, that she had first noticed on the ship to Thonvil. She held his hand as she looked at the ring, "It is definitely holy, but not good nor evil, nor chaotic or lawful. It is simply Neutrality, and sits in the Balance. What is its name?"

"It is called the 'Blue Star'," he answered quietly.

For a long moment, Crysania was silent and he looked at her. Her face showed an expression that was a mix of sadness and awe. She looked up at him, and said, "I don't believe it, but yet I do."

"What?" he asked irritably.

"I now know why you challenged the Gods," she said. "It's because your blood is called by them, is from them. Raistlin... only a demi-god can wear that ring and a God call upon its power. You not only wear it, but call upon it, and it you. Your ambition was naught but a call to go home."

He lay back and stared at the ceiling, "All my life, I never felt like I belonged. And it was because I never did... Sweet Lunitari... what I wanted before I already had the entire time..."

For a long moment they were both silent, Crysania staring into the fire and Raistlin at the ceiling. Then she broke it, "The Gods never gave me my sight back, you did."

"Heh?" he looked at her in confusion.

"None of the Gods knew we were there when I regained my sight, Raistlin. Only you did," she pointed out. "Whether or not you know you did it, but you did."

He was silent, "I did want you to have your sight back. I don't remember wishing it, but I know I wanted you to have it back. I wanted you to see what I saw when we were in the Dome of Creation..."

"And then I did," she pointed out smiling and then she grasped his hand.

Raistlin allowed himself to lay there with her company. It didn't make the huge sleeping chamber seem so empty.

A third party watched and smiled as she blinked back tears. She had been trying for years to get them to see reason and that if they got past their ambitions that they were a perfect set. But he always somewhat ignored her.

Ektatrina sighed and retreated further into the ethers that were her home within the Staff of Magius. It took a bit of energy she had a feeling she could not spare to scry on her wielder if he was a good distance away. A presence made itself known and she turned to her Goddess with a small bow, "Lady Lunitari, I have not seen you in awhile."

"Nor I you, Ektatrina," said the Goddess of Red Magic. "I have a task for you, but it will not be easy."

"Name your task, Lady," answered Ektatrina.

"When the time comes, you will know when it is time for this task I give you," said Lunitari. "Chaos walks the land, but as your wielder is a Fragment, I am sure you already know that."

Ektatrina nodded her knowledge of it. "Yes, I do. And it worries me. He has dreams... I do not like how these dreams tend to end."

Lunitari sighed, "It cannot be helped if creation itself is to survive. Which leads me to my reason for coming. He will need support, Ektatrina. I know he is frightened of what he truly is capable of, and he will need to call on it for all of us to survive. I need you to support him, reassure the part of him that knows what it must do."

"I shall do so, my Lady," Ektatrina bowed and the presence of the Goddess was gone. "For all our sakes, I shall do so..."

* * *

Gilthanas finally pulled the door open and stalked down the corridor. He was determined to get an answer out of the wizards of the Conclave. Tanin, Sturm, and Juniper followed. When they entered the main chambers, they all saw Dalamar standing just behind Raistlin and Crysania. Tanin and Sturm breathed a sigh of relief.

Dunbar then creased his brows, "And why should we believe this, Raistlin?"

"Have you not felt it when you cast magic?" asked Raistlin. "As if the power is almost out of reach, the paths of power muddied? The Gods themselves fight for their very lives, and if we do not put aside the petty bickering soon it won't matter as there will be nothing to bicker over!"

Tanin felt the Staff tingle in his hands, and for a moment, he saw Raistlin turn and look his way. A short gesture was all it took for the two nephews to side with him, and Tanin handed Raistlin the Staff of the Magius back. Gilthanas, although siding with Raistlin, took in the black robes he was wearing and stood a bit farther away than the Majere's were. The kender took it all in and stood with them too. She was far more interested in the journeys the three Majeres would be taking than staying in a boring Tower.

Dalamar walked forward and said, as if answering an unasked question, "I believe him."

Even more surprising was when he stood just behind Raistlin in a measure of support. Ladonna stood and her voice boomed, "Are you all insane? Lady Crysania, you of all of them should know better!"

"I do know better," answered Crysania. "I have seen what he is truly capable of, and what we face. I also was there when the Gods met and discussed the situation in the Dome of Creation. Raistlin Majere speaks the bare and unadulterated truth. This is not about him anymore, it is about all Krynn and beyond."

The Conclave was silent, as if they were mulling over this and Dalamar held up his hands, "I know it is hard to believe. When I heard it, I too was skeptical. But it is true."

He held up the letter from the Protector of the Irda, "And I have proof."

* * *

Hours later after much debate, Raistlin wearily allowed Tanin and Dalamar to support him as he was led to a suite prepared for visiting archmagi. Sitting in a chair, Raistlin turned his attention to the fireplace although it was unlit. The weather had grown far too warm for fires to be lit and even he had taken off his cloak and heavy robes in favor of a lighter long black tunic and pants. Dalamar then left as a vote was being called again to see to Raistlin's status as a renegade.

Tanin paced while his Uncle stared, he supposed after being bored of staring into a cold hearth, out the window and into the forest beyond. After an hour, a knock sounded at the door. Sturm answered it and they looked at the door to see Dunbar flanked by Dalamar and Jenna.

Raistlin motioned with a short curt nod for them to enter. The three heads of the orders walked in and Sturm closed the door. Dunbar put a bag on a table in the room within easy sight of Raistlin and his two Solamnic nephews. "We thought you may want to see the votes tallied, the results counted, with your own eyes," said Dunbar, as he explained. "Black is your condemnation as a renegade, white is your acceptance back into the Order."

Nodding once, Raistlin watched Dunbar open the bag of stones. "There are twenty one stones," said Dalamar. "One for each voting member of the Conclave."

"Only senior members are voting members," explained Jenna to Tanin and Sturm. "There are far more than only twenty one wizards– seven for each order, Red, White, and Black."

"They understand this," stated Raistlin coldly. "They have had two... _nearly_ two... wizards in their family. Get on with it."

Dunbar started to pull out the stones and Tanin counted as he did so, seeing the stones put into two piles. When the stones were all out, a small smile lit on the three leading members of the Conclave. "The count is nine black, twelve white," counted Dunbar. "Well, I suppose congratulations is in order. Now, are you still a Black Robe?"

Raistlin thought for a moment, "What else would I be? White?"

There was a small sigh from Jenna, but then he said even more quietly, "No, my robes... they are not black. I don't know... actually... I know they are not white. But I don't think I completely fall into either red or black."

"You said you serve the Greater Balance," pointed out Jenna. "Perhaps you can serve that as red. Black would care little..."

"The Greater Balance cares little for good or evil, all that matters is the balance of Law and Chaos," answered Raistlin evenly as he looked up at her, then sighed. "But perhaps you are right. I know I do not feel right in these anymore."

Dunbar nodded, "You do not have to choose right now. I would suggest soon, though. I shall give you a sabbatical of a year... if we are all still around in a year... to decide. But you cannot push the decision off any longer than that, Raistlin."

"I think that will be all I need," Raistlin's voice was still low and regretful, and Dunbar picked up on it.

"What is it, Majere?" he asked. "We all have noticed this regret hanging over you."

Again, Raistlin looked up at the three Conclave wizards, "I should not be here. It should be Palin, not me. I... he..."

Raistlin shook his head as he gave up explaining and settled for an even quieter, "This is not right."

Dunbar blinked, and quietly said, "You may not be of the Order of Black Robes, Raistlin, but as the color black is also of mourning, that seems to be your color. A year, Raistlin."

With that the Head of the Order of White Robes left the room. Jenna and Dalamar stayed. Dalamar walked over to his _Shalafi_'s chair and knelt down, "_Shalafi_?"

"Yes?"

"The Knights of the Thorn, they have been taking many of our Order," stated Dalamar, and catching Raistlin's lifted brow. "I say 'our' because I go on the assumption that you are still of the Black Robes because that is the last confirmed Order you are member of. As I was saying, the Knights of Takhisis have attracted many of our Order away."

Raistlin trained his eyes on Dalamar, "Yes, I know. I had a run in with Lillith."

Dalamar lifted a brow, then his expression darkened, "Ladonna's apprentice."

"Interesting," said Raistlin. "I had to kill her in the end, but I did come out of the encounter with some interesting information about the Thorn Knights."

For a moment, he saw that Dalamar and Jenna simply stared at him in open mouth shock, then they both recovered to listen to what Raistlin had to tell them.

* * *

Caramon leaned on the bar as the last of the customers left for the night, except for those staying the night. He sighed as there was little in the way of business with the way the Knights of Takhisis had taken over. As it was, he was rather lucky to still have a business as the other tavern, the Trough, had been razed by the Dark Knights as a place of 'lack of control and of lawlessness.'

The door opened and a Dark Knight, the one left in charge of the town, came in, "Caramon, how was business tonight?"

The question was an honest one, and held honest concern. If there was one thing Caramon had to admit, the Dark Knights were a decent sort of evil. Drunken brawling was at an all time low which meant damage done was also at an all time low. The Knights had a simple way of dealing with it: Break the law and die.

Caramon shrugged, "The same, but slowly recovering. I have less damage than I usually do, thanks to your Knights."

The Dark Knight, named Sir Devon, nodded in sympathy, "That's good to hear. You run a tight ship, Master Majere, that's why we keep you open. And we hope to keep damage to a minimum, actually, we would prefer to hear that there is no damage at all. Damage means someone has broken the law..."

"... And are to be punished," finished Caramon, a wan smile on his face. "Although, I must admit, Sir Devon, I miss my old friends that did come around, I do see that there is less brawls, and although it may not make me popular, I am... grateful for that."

Sir Devon laughed, "And they say your brother was the sly one. You have a knack for diplomacy, Caramon. That's why I came here tonight."

Caramon lifted a brow in vague interest although something inside his gut twisted at having to be so accepting of it all just to make sure his family stayed alive. If it had been just him, or even just him and Tika, he would have openly rebelled. But he could not for fear of his little girls or of his sons, where ever they may be. Sir Devon said, "The town needs a mayor since the last was a Solamnic and is now in custody."

_Oh, why do I not like where this is leading_, thought Caramon. "Oh?"

"Yes, and you are a very respected man by both the populace, but also by us, and everyone else with honor since you are an honorable man," Sir Devon said. "That is why we would like you to take that position."

"Can I refuse and not find myself at the bottom of a well," Caramon was kind of surprised at his own answer... it sounded far too much like his brother, it even held the same sharp tone. _Wow, he's rubbing off on me_...

But, thankfully, Sir Devon thought he was making a joke and laughed heartily. Or, at least, he took it that way even if he didn't think it was a joke. "Very funny," Sir Devon grew serious. "You can refuse, if you wish, but I don't think you will. It would be a shame to have to find someone else to run the Inn. Have a good night, Master Majere."

With that Sir Devon left, and Caramon closed the door softly behind him for if he hadn't he would have slammed the door into the next tree. He went to the bar and began to clean it with a fervor that would have told those watching that he was extremely upset. Time passed and it grew dark. He was about to head to bed when the knock sounded at the side door. Caramon went to it and asked, "Who's there?"

"A late traveler," came the familiar voice, and Caramon's heart lurched as he pulled open the door to pull in his two sons and his brother.

He closed the door behind them and hugged the three of them in relief. "By the Gods, you three cause more letters of 'We're sorry, they went missing' than any other Knight I've ever seen!" he whispered, then noted the black robes his brother was wearing. "I take it there's no point in hiding it anymore, Raist?"

Raistlin shook his head, auburn hair loose on his shoulders, staff just ever so slightly leaning on his shoulder as he leaned on it, although not with all his weight. "We were almost caught twice," said Tanin. "If not for Uncle Raistlin's magic."

"Simple glamours so that we appear not to be a wizard and two Solamnic Knights," assured Raistlin as Caramon looked at him questioningly, then Raistlin told the two boys. "Go rest up. We cannot stay long."

Tanin and Sturm hugged their father once more for good night before climbing the stairs to their own bedrooms. Raistlin and Caramon watched for a time, then Caramon motioned his brother to the bar where he boiled water for Raistlin's tea. Once the tea was made, and Raistlin was sipping it casually, Caramon asked, "What happened after Kalaman. I hear too many conflicting reports."

"Too much happened after Kalaman," said Raistlin. "I destroyed their supply line, but that was not enough to stop the Dark Knights. But the Dark Knights are the least of our problems, and if possible, we shall have to put aside our differences of good or evil and all work together if we are to survive."

Caramon leaned back at this, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Chaos, Father of All and Nothing, walks Krynn with the intent of destroying it," Raistlin saw the horror on Caramon's face as, once many years ago, Marion had explained the general purpose to the mission of protecting the Blue Star. "Yes, Chaos. We all either band together for the coming battle or we all perish."

"Holy Paladine," swore Caramon. "I can help. Ironically, before you got here, I was offered the position of mayor of Solace by the Dark Knights. Perhaps as mayor I can organize the townsfolk into an underground militia... although I always thought I would do so in rebellion, not cooperation of the Dark Knights..."

Raistlin smiled slightly, "Be careful. I would hate to learn that you went missing by falling into a dry well..."

"I will be, Raist," promised Caramon, then looked at the drawn look to his brother. "You look like you could sleep a week. Unless I miss my guess, this is hardest on you as you guard the Balance."

Raistlin nodded, "It calls for many... sacrifices."

The two talked for many, many hours as they were finally able to catch up and reminisce about times when they had been happier, or as close as they had ever got to it. When the sun began to come up, and Raistlin was on his fifth cup of his tea and Caramon glass of water, Tika came down the stairs to begin work in the kitchen.

She stopped dead upon seeing the twins deep in conversation although Raistlin looked like he was about to fall asleep with his arm on the counter holding up his head judging by the way he was ever so slowly leaning. Not that Caramon was much better, but her husband naturally had the better stamina. She stood there for a good five minutes not wanting to break the tableau she had walked in on. _If someone were to paint a picture_, she thought. _I would hope that this be the moment they caught._..

As much as she didn't really like Raistlin as it was in her opinion that it was his fault that Caramon had turned into the drunk he had been during the early years of their marriage, this was still the most beautiful scene she had seen in years. Finally, Raistlin looked over and straightened up slightly while Caramon turned his head to see his wife standing there. "How long have you been there?" he asked.

"Long enough to see that you talked yourselves into exhaustion," she pointed out. "Look at your brother, he's all but falling asleep on that barstool."

Raistlin stood a bit unsteadily and yawned. Once he had recovered and stretched the kinks from his back, he said, "She is right, and magic rests easier in a rested mind. I would say good night but it isn't night anymore."

Caramon laughed easily, and Tika, seeing that Raistlin was joking, did as well. She reached out a hand and brushed his robe as he walked by her, stopping him on the stairs. Her hand still on his arm, she whispered, "Sleep well, Raist."

He smiled, a true smile she had never really got the chance to see. She had to admit it lit up his so very pale blue grey eyes and she saw the slight lines around his eyes, "Thank you, Tika. Have a good day..."

With that he was up the stairs and in Palin's old room. For a moment she stared up at where he had gone before she turned back to her work. As she did she saw that Caramon was leaning against the wall, eyes closed, almost snoring. "You lout," she slapped his arm and he woke with a start. "That's what a _bed_ is for! Now get up there and sleep."

She shook her head as she watched him leave to do so, then Tika turned to her days work and to greet any customers.


	15. Sacrificial Lamb

_**A/N**_: Although the tone of the story is still serious, a slight tongue-in-cheek moment was requiredto lift it before it truly and well depressed us...

* * *

Chapter Thirteen   
The Sacrificial Lamb

* * *

Raistlin found himself in Palanthas again, and he pushed himself against the wall as a patrol walked past the alley he had rematerialized in. He watched the Dark Knights move past, one almost turning to walk into where he was hidden. Raistlin held his breath, fingers curling around the Staff of Magius.

If he was discovered now, he would simply be killed. Ariakan would have seen to that, warning or no warning, and he sought one particular Knight of Takhisis. With a sardonic smile he knew that this was a rather suicidal mission, but nothing good had ever come too easy.

Finally, they moved on, as the alley had remained quiet. Raistlin moved from his hiding spot and walked swiftly to where he had intended to be. Walking in the shop, too late he realized that if the Dark Knights held the city, then the Knights of the Thorn would have one of them stationed within.

The grey-robe walked up and pointed to a book, a frown on his face, "Brethren, while it pains me that you hold onto the Conclave, it is good to see a fellow. If you would please sign the book?"

Raistlin looked at the book, then the grey-robe, gauging how the 'fellow' would like a well-placed flaming hands spell when Jenna walked in and caught sight of him. Her eyes went from the Staff to him, took in his black robes, then back to him again. For a long moment they simply stared at each other. The grey robe, sensing a bit of tension in the air, backed away a little.

By far he wasn't sure he understood. The red robe, Mistress Jenna, was well known for consorting with Dalamar who had been apprenticed to the renegade black robe Raistlin Majere. If she was willing to consort with Dalamar, then he by far did not understand her nervousness around this thin man with a staff... then he got a really good look at said Staff, and remembered the current Nightlord, and what had happened to the last...

He kept his excitement under control. It was him, it had to be. Mahogany staff, crystal in a dragonclaw on top of staff, bronze shod tip. Black robes on a very thin man. Granted, he didn't have gold skin, but that he had heard about too, but word was that he had somehow broken the curse of his hourglass eyes. The young Thorn Knight, who while he knew should have been informing his higher ups, was too awe struck to do anything but suggest again, half hoping the man would sign his name and confirm his suspicions, "Sir, I am afraid that as per orders, you must sign your name to the log book."

Jenna and the Black Robe stared at him, Jenna in thinly veiled shock, the Black Robe with bemusement. Finally, Jenna broke the silence, "Palas, we thought you were dead."

Disappointment broke the Thorn Knight's mood and his hopeful face fell, "Palas?"

The Black Robe, Palas, answered both, "Yes. I know, I nearly was. It took me years to return and I return to this."

"Sir, may I ask about your staff?" asked the Thorn Knight. "I must see if it is magical."

The Black Robe boredly turned to him, "Why?"

"Because by orders of Lord Ariakan, all powerful magical items must be confiscated for service to our Dark Queen," answered the Thorn Knight. "Surely you knew this upon entering the city?"

The Black Robe sighed, and his tone was clearly condescending, "And what service should I truly care about to your Dark Queen? Nuitari is the God of Dark Magic, _brethren_."

The Thorn Knight blinked in surprise, and answered with his own tone of long suffering patience, "If you were aware, the Knight of Takhisis control Palanthas. That means Takhisis, not Nuitari. Entering Palanthas means that you agree to our terms, and our terms clearly state that everything is used in the service of the Dark Queen. If your staff is magical, I must take it."

"Over my..." the Black Robe moved into a defensive posture, but Jenna leapt in between.

"Palas, no!" she put her hands on his shoulders. "You've been my father's friend for too many years for me not to at least give you fair warning. The Knights are too powerful for one man to challenge, even one of your skill. Stay your hand."

The two evil wizards fell into a dark silence, glaring at each other, and with an angry flourish, Palas signed his name. The grey robe read it

_Palas Norwood_

Satisfied, the grey robe moved the book back to where he had kept it, then he cast the detect magic spell on Palas' belongings.

Nothing glowed.

The Thorn Knight looked from the pile of belongings, including the staff, to Palas again. Palas had a slight smile on his face, and he remarked, "My, what a waste of a perfectly good memorized spell that was on your part..."

The Thorn Knight then tried Arcane Sight, then another Detect Magic. Still nothing. Finally, he gave up in disgust, "I know it's enchanted, Norwood, and I suspect so do you. But, as I cannot prove its enchantment, it remains with you. Mark my words, I shall report this to the Nightlord."

"Go ahead, I'm sure that he will like to hear your tale, Dark Knight. Tell him hello while you're at it," with that the Black Robe went upstairs to Jenna's private quarters.

The grey robe fumed.

* * *

"Do you mind telling me what the point of that was?"" asked Jenna in a near silent whisper.

"I need the Nightlord to know that I'm here," answered Raistlin. "However, if he had found out who I was right away, it would have been far too soon. Has Dalamar told you what transpired North of here?"

She nodded as she led him into the small dining area. "It's nothing like the Tower, but it is home."

"It suits me fine," remarked Raistlin. "Jenna, is the Tower still accessible? When I tried to teleport in I found that I could not."

"Dalamar sealed it so that the Dark Knights could not enter," she answered.

"Ironic, since it is my Tower and not his, and he knows that," Raistlin remarked sourly. "And yet, I am sealed out of it. I was looking forward to a third trip through the Shoikan Grove for magical supplies, however if I must... unless, of course, he has given you some way in?"

She shook her head, "He is the only one that I know of."

Raistlin stood up and began to pace, "That presents a problem considering who I have to find before tomorrow's nightfall, and I would rather not do it the same method as last time."

"I see," she said. "Perhaps I can still help you. I am quite familiar with the patrols now."

Raistlin sat back down and listened as she explained the new patrols, then she added, "Also, you may want to go to the Broken Mug Tavern."

With that in mind, he walked back downstairs and nodded curtly to the Grey Robe. The Grey Robe stopped him, "Norwood, I get the feeling that you walk a dangerous path, and you do it for all. Even though you do not welcome it, Takhisis's blessing go with you."

Raistlin turned to face the Grey Robe, an eyebrow lifted in curiosity, and the Grey Robe explained, "Each Knight of Takhisis is given their own Vision that fits within the Greater Vision, a puzzle piece to the greater tapestry. Mine has told me that... I never saw you here this day, _Majere_, although, it was an honor to have met you. You were always one of my, ah, role models in life before the Vision."

Raistlin shook the man's hand and said, "I only pray that there will still be a Vision when this is all finished, brethren. And the Gods of Magic always insure good casting."

With that Raistlin left and the Grey Robe turned to Jenna, "That was... a tremendous honor. I never thought I would ever meet him."

A moment later, he was all grimness and seriousness again, and back to taking all names of those who entered. Jenna threw her hands up in the air in disbelief, "You would think he was some popstar Bard or something the way people act around him!"

The Grey Robe smiled ever so slightly, "I know another Knight that has a painting of him on his wall..."

Jenna stormed back up the stairs of the building in thinly veiled disgust.

* * *

Raistlin used Jenna's advice in getting to the tavern. Upon entering he was hard pressed to find a seat in the barely above disgusting alehouse. He had to almost pinch his nose to keep from being nauseated. He picked a seat by the fire, sighing in relief at the smell of burning wood and smoke as the two smells covered the smell of stale ale. A barmaid, somehow making her way to him, asked, "What can I get you?"

Perhaps it was her cultured voice that attracted his attention, the accent he, for the life of him, could just not pick out and recognize. He found himself looking up and something within himself connected. "White wine, and for you to sit down," he answered evenly. "You, and I, I think, need to have a long chat."

She went and came back with his wine and even sat down. Catching a glance from the dirty and overweight man that had to be her boss, she tried to sit a bit too close to Raistlin. With a sigh, Raistlin realized just what of place this tavern was, and what she was. With a frown, he pulled her close, and whispered, "Relax, I am not here for that. But I can get you out of here, permanently."

The relief was evident in her gold eyes, and he pushed back the white hair. Okay, Jenna, what was the point of this, he wondered as he looked at the girl closely. Caramon had told him, in the night they had spent at the Inn, of the legend that had been going around. Gold eyes, yes, white hair, oh yes, that was a definite feature, gold skin... wait a minute, she did have gold skin...

Raistlin looked her up and down and then asked, "Who is your father?"

"I was told I could be Raistlin's daughter," she answered quietly. "Then I was thrown to the streets when Lord Dalamar saw that I had no magic of my own."

Dalamar.

Of course. Raistlin was going to have one very, very long chat with his former apprentice upon meeting him again, he could see... perhaps Dalamar would like a matching set of finger prints from his _other_ hand? The prospect was entirely too tempting, and Raistlin smiled darkly and said, "Whether you are my daughter remains to be seen. But rest assured, my daughter or no, you are not staying here another minute."

The girl fairly retreated from him and Raistlin, out of the corner of his eye, caught her boss walking over, the expression on his face turning dark and ugly... if were possible to get any uglier... as well as a few of the Tavern's bouncers. Raistlin stood to meet them and pushed the girl behind him in a measure of protection. The patrons all backed away upon seeing the black robes he wore and the staff. The boss stopped so close to Raistlin that he had to wrinkle his nose at the man's putrid breath. "What do ya think you're doin' with one of mah girls?"

"She was never yours to begin with," Raistlin's whisper crept up the beams and settled over the entire room as it fell silent. "And she is leaving with me this very minute."

The man laughed, "And how do ya think you're goin' to do that?"

Raistlin began to reach for his belt pouches, the ones that held his spell components. "I would trust you to back off or will I have to 'demonstrate' how very serious I am?"

The man frowned darkly, "You don't scare me, and I don't like being bullied by some wizard who thinks he owns the joint."

Raistlin smiled, "Whatever. Move, I will not ask again." To the girl he said, "Are you set?"

She nodded and said, "Yes, father."

If it were possible it got even more silent in the room as the boss looked Raistlin up and down. Suddenly he was having second and third thoughts. If Dalamar had been accurate when he had sold the girl to him, she was supposingly the daughter of Raistlin Majere. That would mean that this extremely thin, but richly dressed, Black Robe was also equally supposingly Raistlin Majere himself. The owner looked from Raistlin, to the Staff, and then went white. Oh yes, if legend and the bards were correct on description, that had to be the Staff of Magius. In the hands of a Black Robe, who the 'Daughter of Raistlin' had just called father.

Raistlin continued reaching for a spell pouch and right when he was about to pull something out of it, the tavern emptied, the staff of the tavern and the patrons alike all vacating the premises in the span of two minutes until it was only Raistlin and the girl. He turned to the girl, and said, "Hot water."

She blinked and went to do as told. A few minutes later in a relatively clean kettle that looked like she had tried to clean to the best that she could a few minutes before, as well as use the best water she could find, she brought him the hot water.

She also set down a clean teacup, with the quiet explanation, "They never used them."

That suited him fine. He sat down and put the herbs that he used for his tea. The smell of the tea quickly overwhelmed the other smells in the tavern, and he asked, "What is your name?"

"I am called Usha," she answered then looked up. "Am I truly your daughter?"

"I don't think so," he answered, looking out the stained windows in thought. "I cannot find any family resemblance. You don't look like my mother, nor like my sister, so my guess would be no. Although, you could take after your mother, but I have no idea. What I suspect you are, truly, is something altogether different which is perhaps why Mistress Jenna pointed you out to me."

"But you are Raistlin Majere?" she asked even quieter.

"Oh yes," he answered. "I am he."

He could see the question in her eyes, and he allowed the Guardian Armor, the gold skin, eyes and the white hair to show, "It is armor that both you and I possess. It does not have to mean that we are remotely related, but in a sense you and I are brother and sister of a trust. I can see that much. I suspect that if you had been my daughter, you may have inherited that trust, but there is just as much a chance that you would have not. But you do not have to be related to me by blood to get it."

"I don't understand," her brows crinkled in puzzlement.

"And we both don't have enough time for me to explain," he answered. "Though I should. All I can say is termed in a question. If you have ever felt like you don't belong, you are not the only one, I feel that call as well, but think long and hard as to what it could mean, Usha. Meditate deeply on the implications. You are not human born, and neither am I."

She looked up in confusion, "We are not human?"

"No, nor any mortal race. We are not created by Gods," he answered then leaned close. "We are Gods, actually, one God in particular. All of us are the Fragments of the Shattered God, called to the Greater Balance. And... unfortunately... given the limits on time that I already have... that is all I can say. Farewell, Usha, and may the Greater Balance guide you."

He stood up, and she stood with him. Usha, starved for the even half friendly contact, hugged Raistlin with a force that nearly sent him into a coughing fit. He patted her on the back, "Okay, you can let go now..."

She released him with a slight blush, "I'm sorry, I needed that and you were the closest person that was even remotely friendly since I left Selesia."

"I find that hard to believe," he answered, then sighed. "I can give you one last piece of advice; after all this is over and you have finished your part in the coming war, find a town called Solace. It is located on this continent South of here. It is a long journey, but worth it. You will find my family there. Tell Caramon I sent you."

Raistlin reached under his robes and pulled out a small pendant that had been his mother's. "Show him this, then he will believe you."

Usha looked at the pendant in her hands, then looked back up to thank the archmage.

But Raistlin was already gone.

* * *

Raistlin made his way back to Jenna's Magic Shop and entered. This time the Grey Knight merely nodded in response to Raistlin's arrival, correctly assuming that Raistlin had not come for magical supplies... again. Jenna came back down the stairs and her eyes widened as soon as she saw him, "What are you doing here!?"

"Mistress Jenna, I need a pen and some parchment," he said and then shook his head as she headed for the heavier scroll paper for making magical scrolls. "No, not for that. I simply need to write a letter to my brother, and when the time comes I need someone bound by honor to deliver it..."

He looked pointedly at the Grey Knight, who stood up straighter upon realizing that Raistlin was speaking of him, "Me, sir?"

"What is so important?" asked Jenna in vague curiosity as she assembled the scroll paper and ink she used for letters, not expecting the answer she got...

"... My will," answered Raistlin. "Where I go next I suspect I may not walk out of alive, ever. But it is necessary for the Balance to be maintained, the sacrifice that must be made."

She turned to him in surprise, handing him the ink, the pen and the paper as he walked into her back office and sat down. She closed the door and turned away from the Dark Knight who put his hand on her shoulder in consolation.

Raistlin did not see any of this, as after he had sat down at the desk and prepared the pen, holding the paper as he did so, what he wanted to write had slipped out his mind like sand. There was far too much to be said, and too many people to say it. Finally he dipped the quill and began to write.

_I write this in the sight of the Gods as it is my last wishes. I knew that one day this would come and I find it very hard to even comprehend that I must tell so much to everyone._

So I will attempt to tell you in this.

My Brother, my twin, Caramon Majere; too many years have past in bitter hate. I think, in the end, that perhaps you had the better life of the two of us, perhaps even the better outlook on life. I envy that, and I think that is why I was always so bitter and hateful to you. You never deserved it, and I apologize. Too late, I know, but I guess the thought is there. Even though I rather suspect the answer, forgive me for what I have done, and live on with those who have always made you happy. I hope you and Tika have many years together in contentment, and I suspect you will anyway. If I had anything to give you that was not tainted in darkness, I would. Perhaps all I can give you is some peace of mind; for all the pain that you will have shortly, many more years of contentment and bliss will come to you. That much I can See. Be well, my Brother.

Crysania; I know I promised that I would live with you and grow old with you, but I have found that it cannot come to pass. I wish that I could, but I think you out of all of them understand the ordeal that is coming as well as what I must do for Krynn, and other worlds, to survive. I do love you, and I also See marital bliss for you. One hint on where it will be found– it has been under your nose the entire time! I would ask Tandar about that... I do have one other thing to give you, though, something that always caught your eye and I see being of more use to you. The hair tie and the cloak clasp I always wear, they are enchanted with protection spells. They are yours.

To my wonderful nephews Tanin and Sturm; well, I have this to say about you two, you definitely made life interesting. Tanin, you can keep that sword I lent you in my Tower. Sturm, you can have my leather armor. I wish I had two of each because I can't see two young men more deserving of a suit of each and having each a sword. I hope you have sons that are just like both are, that way you both have the great pride I experienced as well as the hair-pulling frustrations. Not that I wouldn't repeat the experiences with you had I the chance... wherever I am I will remember the Gargath mission with great fondness. Just don't try drinking another dwarf under the table since we have figured out that we lose...

To Usha; if I ever had a daughter, I would hope that she would be one as innocent and as beautiful as you are. You and I are called Fragments of the Shattered God, Miiro. With this both comes great power as well as a great responsibility. You, now, have inherited this. I name you my Successor, and I bestow the Blue Star upon you after my death. Guard it well, Guardian, and remember that with this honor comes responsibility. Go to Solace like I suggested, my twin brother Caramon and his wife Tika will receive you and teach you what you need to know to survive on Ansalon.

I wish I could say more but I am running out of paper and if I make it longer the messenger will not be able to roll it up. Be well, live a long life, and remember me as I was before I fell.

Raistlin Majere

With that Raistlin sprinkled sand on the ink to make it dry. Once the ink was dried, he shook off the sand and rolled the scroll up. Taking some sealing wax he dribbled it on the scroll to seal it and pressed his signet ring into the wax.

Afterwards he walked out into the common area and handed the scroll to the Grey Knight, "When this is all over, and you will know when, I want you to take this to my brother Caramon Majere in Solace."

The Grey Robe took the scroll, "You have my oath of honor that I will do as you ask, Master."

Raistlin nodded then looked around, "Good bye."

He walked out into the street, skirting patrols as he did so. Finally he came to the Knights of the Lily and walked into the barracks. Dropping the cowl of his hood of his head, he told the nearest Knight, "My name is Raistlin Majere. I surrender."


	16. INTERLUDE TWO: All Good Things

* * *

Interlude Two   
All Good Things...

* * *

Two Gods of different worlds met in the Grey. It was agreed that it would be as good a place to meet as any, and they simply stared at each other for awhile. One was the Goddess Mystra, the Goddess of Magic on Faerun, patron of Elminister. The other was Lunitari, also a Goddess of Magic, but on Krynn she held dominion over the magic of the Red Moon, of Neutrality. The two stood for a long time simply staring at each other. "Mother," said Lunitari.

"Daughter," said Mystra. "Your father is a correct. I too have researched this."

"I know, but I wish it would not have to be," said Lunitari. "But he was, is, my favorite. Even when he fell to darkness, I still watched over him. To see this come to pass pains me as when he goes through with it, he will not even have a soul to pass on to my realm with. It will be assimilated into the Blue Star..."

"One less Fragment to assemble at the end," stated Mystra. "His memories and skills will be passed on, even if his consciousness is not."

"His personality was my favorite part about him, Mother..."

* * *

Ektatrina watched as her wielder was tied down on the alter and she cried as the bonds were tied tight enough to cut off most of the circulation in his thin wrists. The tears on his face ran freely as his robes were cut from him and he was stripped to the waist. Finally they walked away from him, leaving him alone in the room. She herself was wrapped in thick cotton padding and then packed away in a box and sealed away. She closed her eyes in mourning.

Chaos would soon descend on the High Clerist Tower to destroy the rest of Krynn, and this would be the final place of battle.

* * *


	17. Homeward Bound

**A/N:**We should warn you that this story is going to end up in canon character death. We would have warned you earlier but, that would have ruined the ending for you. But as it has become very plain to see that story will end in death, we warn you now.

Don't worry, he goes out a hero in the end!

* * *

Chapter Fourteen   
Homeward Bound

* * *

Steel Brightblade was surprised when Lord Ariakan called him from his punishment and into his office. For the longest time, Ariakan looked at Steel sadly, then he said, "Your Uncle Raistlin gave himself up in Palanthas two days ago. You are redeemed and are to return to your former duties."

For a moment Steel could only stare in shock. "May I see him?" he blurted out.

Ariakan blinked in surprise then asked, "Why?"

"He is my Uncle... and he was honorable to surrender to us after escaping from us," said Steel. "This is not his way, I would know what brought him back."

Ariakan nodded, "I would as well. Very well, you have one hour. Make use of it, Sir Brightblade."

Steel saluted then left the office. The first thing he did was reclaim his belongings and dress himself in his armor. Once his armor was properly donned, he slid his sword into the sheath on the sword belt he strapped around himself. The Star Jewel he put around his neck on its chain and slid it beneath his shirt under his armor. After he looked himself in the mirror and was satisfied with what he saw, he left his room and walked down into the great chamber that once housed the dragon orb.

The guards allowed him through and he stepped into the room. Now the central feature was the large alter to Takhisis, and on that alter was his Uncle. Steel could only stare at the frail form, hardly able to believe that the same proud man lay upon it. For a long moment, he even thought his uncle was already dead he was so still.

But Raistlin's eyes opened and he looked over at Steel, and he smiled weakly, "I was wondering when they would send the executioner."

"I am not your executioner," stated Steel coldly as he walked over to the alter and took in what he saw.

Raistlin was tied to the alter, arms pulled straight out from his body, legs tied together and straight down the center. The leather thongs that held him had been tied dry then soaked wet so that when they had dried they had tightened to almost cut off his circulation and stretch him further into the position that they had tied him into. Raistlin had also been stripped to his waist and his boots and socks taken so that when sacrificed he would go to the Dark Queen in shame. He did not have any sort of padding or pillow to ease the cold stone of the alter either. His auburn hair fell loosely around his head. Steel took a ladle from the water bucket, and asked, "Are you thirsty, Uncle? At least allow me to ease that discomfort from you..."

"I am not," whispered Raistlin. "So, why have they sent you?"

"They didn't send me," answered Steel. "I asked to be able to see you. I would know why you came back."

"Because I had intention on escape," he answered. "And the mission was complete. I went to the Dome of Creation, I met with the Gods. I know the truth of the situation and I returned to tell your Lord Ariakan the truth."

Steel frowned, "Tell me, so that I may tell him."

And Raistlin did. With each word, Steel grew paler and paler until he finished and after he did Steel said as the guard came in, "My hour is up. If they allow it I shall return. Uncle... I was wrong to call you dishonorable."

"Apology accepted," whispered Raistlin as the younger man left, closing his eyes against the ceiling as he did so.

* * *

Jenna came down the stairs as the door opened to reveal Steel Brightblade. She blinked in surprise and asked, "I did not expect to see you here. And no, I have not seen your Uncle."

He brushed that off, "I know that you did, he himself told me that he was here just over a week ago. I came to tell you so that you could tell Dalamar, and Caramon if Dalamar does not, that they intend to execute him in two days time at high noon in the High Clerist Tower. He handed himself in three days ago."

For a moment she simply stared. "He did what?"

Steel compressed his lips into a thin line, "For a man I thought of as having little to no honor, he truly surprised me. While he did enter the Abyss he did not release the Dark Queen as promised, and for that he will face his execution. That he returned shows that his own honor did allow him to run from his fate."

"A rather silly sense of honor," she pointed out. "When he did try to do as asked."

"Failure is met with death," stated the Grey Robe. "We all know this, and as the prisoner of the Dark Knights, he knew as well. Enemy he may be, but we will mourn his passing as a man of honor unless the Gods themselves intervene."

Steel nodded, "Submit, and be part of the Vision, or die. That is the decision and our test for us to become Knights. It is severe, but only the strong will survive and only progress improves."

He saluted, then left as he walked back to Blayze to return to the High Clerist Tower. Jenna stood there in shock then looked over to the Grey Robe who looked at the scroll with Raistlin's seal upon it. He closed his eyes then looked up, "He said I would know when, and in two days I shall notify the Nightlord of my word of honor and leave for Solace."

Jenna turned and ran back up into her apartments, throwing open the door that hid the mirror of communication, "Dalamar!"

The mirror clouded, then cleared to show him in the main study, "What is it?"

"Sir Brightblade came by to tell me that your _Shalafi_ will be executed at high noon in two days," she said. "You have got your wish, only I wish I was _never_ a part of it!"

Dalamar thought for a moment, then said, "Perhaps it is for the best."

_Not to mention that the Tower will finally be truly mine_, he added mentally, but did not say it aloud. He smiled and said, "Leave him be, Jenna. No matter what we could do, their honor would demand his return. And Takhisis has a long memory. If his death appeases her then so be it."

"Dalamar, he's your _Shalafi_," she stated, surprised at his coldness as he simply shrugged. "Don't you feel any loyalty after all he's taught you?"

"Oh yes, of course I do," he said nonchalantly, his hand flipped in indifference. "He taught me much, but in the end he had nothing else to teach me. He outlived his purpose. Let him die with some dignity, Jenna."

"Oh, and when I have outlived my purpose, what then? Will you throw me aside as well?" her tone dripped icily. "If you won't do anything, then I shall have to!"

With one angry gesture she closed off the communication with Dalamar. Again the mirror turned cloudy. "Caramon Majere."

* * *

Caramon was shaving when the mirror turned cloudy. Setting down the razor and wiping the shaving foam off his face, he waited, recognizing the magic when he saw it. Finally the mists cleared and he saw Mistress Jenna as she stood before her own mirror in her apartment in Palanthas above her shop. "Master Majere, I hope I have not caught you at an inopportune time?"

"Not really," he said.

"I am afraid that I don't know who else to turn to, and Dalamar is being his insufferable self," she began. "Steel Brightblade came to my shop not ten minutes ago with a message: Your brother Raistlin surrendered himself back to the Dark Knights and they are holding him in the High Clerist Tower."

For a moment, Caramon did not quite know what to say, so he said nothing as she continued. But the heavy weight in his stomach grew as she finished, "They plan to execute him at high noon in two days time. I think he expected it as he managed to receive an oath of honor from another Dark Knight to bring you his will."

Caramon leaned on the dresser heavily and he closed his eyes, "Madam, there is no way for me to make it there in time, surely you know that. You have only added to my grief in telling me this..."

She sniffed, "And surely you know that you speak to one who can scry your position and teleport you here? Gather your sons, armored and ready to go within the hour. Then stand in the room you call 'Raistlin's room', the one that you named as such before Palin died, and I shall scry you and teleport you and your sons here. If you are quick, you can arrive in the High Clerist Tower before he is executed."

Caramon stood up, "Thank you, milady."

With that the mirror returned to normal and Caramon ran to his sons' room and knocked on it. Tanin answered sleepily, and he said, "Wake your brother and be ready to leave within the hour. Meet me in the supply room that everyone calls 'Raistlin's room'."

Tanin and Sturm blinked but with speed trained into them, they instantly were fully awake and packing. Caramon himself pulled his armor out of the closet as Tika came into the room, "Where are you going?"

"To save my brother before he does something stupid?" stated Caramon a bit harshly, then he took a breath and said the next apologetically. "I'm sorry, I just found out that Raistlin will be executed in two days in the High Clerist Tower. Mistress Jenna is going to do a scry and teleport within the hour, which, I only have forty minutes left of."

Tika took a short moment and said, "Then let me go. The Dark Knights here will suspect sedition if you suddenly disappear."

She didn't give him time to argue as she began to pull on her armor and strap on her swords and her knife. Caramon left off his own rearmament to help his wife expediate the process. With ten minutes to spare, Tika joined her sons in the room as Caramon went to the bar to cover for any noise being made.

When he heard the unmistakable sound of magic being woven he clumsily knocked a few pans flying and they clanged to the floor. In the effort to pick those up, he knocked over the steel cooking utensils. Dezra, Tika's old-time friend stared at him in confusion and helped him pick up everything. Once it was picked up, Caramon peeked into the room and saw that it was empty of people. "Paladine go with you," he murmured as he returned to his work.

* * *

Jenna sat down heavily as she finished casting and the three people materialized in her study. She lifted a brow as she saw the armored woman next to Caramon's sons, but said only, "I was expecting someone else."

"Caramon could not make it," stated the woman. "The Dark Knights would suspect sedition if he suddenly disappeared. I am his wife, Tika Waylan Majere."

Jenna lifted her eyebrows. Not Caramon but close enough. "Did he tell you of the situation?" she noted the sons shaking their heads 'no' while Tika made a 'sort of' gesture with her hand, and Jenna sighed. "Raistlin handed himself over to the Dark Knights three days ago. Steel Brightblade tells me that he did it because he was told that to be released himself that he had to enter his Tower and open the Portal to release the Dark Queen. He entered his Tower and, unfortunately I don't have the details to what happened in there but he somehow escaped. Steel went back in shame and to be executed for his failure. So, he turned himself in upon returning to Palanthas and they will be executing him at high noon two days hence in the High Clerist Tower. If you leave now you can save him."

The three simply stared at Jenna who said, "Don't just look at me! Go on!"

Tika motioned her sons to follow her down into the main area of the shop where a grey robe looked at her, then Tanin and Sturm. "Well, I certainly didn't expect that..." he said. "Where did you two come from?"

"Solace," answered Tanin as he put a hand on his sword. "Tanin Majere."

The Grey Robe looked over at Sturm who answered, "Sturm Majere."

Then finally to Tika, "Tika Waylan Majere, I'm their mother."

His eyebrows lifted, "Are you related to Caramon?"

Tika nodded, "My husband, their father."

The Grey Robe handed her the scroll, "He asked that this be delivered to Caramon. It is... his will."

Tika took the scroll and the Grey Robe said, "Now I am afraid I must report your presence to my superior officers and place you under arrest."

The resounding clang as the flat end of a silver platter resounded in the shop, then the Grey Robe closed his eyes and collapsed unconscious on the floor. Tika stared in stunned surprise as Jenna stood there holding a silver platter in her hands, "Go on."

The three left as quickly as they came.

* * *

In his fevered mind he dreamed of Palin sitting at the edge of the alter he lay on. Palin looked down at him in sorrow, "I was hoping I would see you again. I... I... have failed you, nephew. I was hoping that I could live on as you so that your name would be celebrated, but the merciful deception fell to pieces."

Raistlin sighed, not really knowing how long he had been there as, since no outside light ever penetrated this far, he had slipped in and out of his semi fevered state for what seemed like days. Finally he slipped into a fevered sleep. It was far from a peaceful sleep, full of visions of the future that his Sight induced, but they were millions of possibilities of what could happen. After what seemed like years, a light touch on his brow brought him out of it. He looked up to see his nephew Palin again, only this time they stood in a garden that to his eyes appeared partially washed out as if the sunlight was far too bright. "Where... where is this?" he asked in confusion.

"Where I ended up, Uncle," answered Palin. "Where I wait for everyone. But, somehow you found yourself here, but you cannot stay."

Raistlin crinkled his brow, "What are you talking about? Is this your afterlife?"

Palin shook his head sadly, "No, not yet. I was allowed to wait for the others, that way we can all pass at the same time."

"Then why can I not stay?"

"Because you have been given a choice," stated Palin. "You can continue, and pass on, or you can go back and fulfill your destiny, or even live. Either way you must decide."

Two gates appeared. One was back to the High Clerist Tower where he could see himself laying on the alter, growing deathly paler by the minute. The other, as he turned his head to look in that direction, revealed his mother on the other side of the bars, tears in her eyes. He straightened and took a half a step towards the other gate as Palin bowed his head, "If that is your choice, I shall see you when the others join me."

Raistlin stopped, "Chaos... I can't."

Palin shrugged, "There is another that you have passed the Blue Star to, you can. But it is your choice. Do you go back, or die here?"

Either way wasn't the best of choices, but Raistlin turned back and walked to the gate that held his life, "I know what I must do. Usha is too inexperienced to finish the course that I have been given."

"Then, in this, you have awakened?" asked Palin with interest.

Raistlin, who took a breath and nodded, "Oh yes, I have. I am a God, the God of the Greater Balance, but I am not whole. I am only a small portion of my own consciousness, and my entire essence rests here."

He held up the Blue Star, which was also his symbol, and said, "I know what I must do as well."

With that he pushed the gate leading back to what remained of his life open and walked through.

* * *

Raistlin opened his eyes to look up into Tanin's eyes. He could see plainly the relief on them, and he looked around to see Sturm on one side, and then Tika. Standing behind them was Steel. He croaked out, "I didn't expect this."

Tika cut the ties holding his wrists while Sturm cut those binding his ankles together and to the alter. Tanin supported him as they helped him sit and then to stand. Raistlin had to rely completely on Tanin's support but was able to stand. It was then that he noticed that the Blue Star had an inner glow. "Are you all right, Raistlin?" asked Tika.

He nodded slowly, barely keeping the dizziness at bay. "I think so," he whispered. "I... didn't expect a rescue party."

"And it's too bad it failed, Archmage," came Ariakan's voice as the room lit completely, revealing the Grey Robes and Knights of the Lily. "Steel, I expected more from you."

"His honor brought him here," stated Steel. "My honor demands a duty be done for my family."

Ariakan nodded, "I understood that much. Raistlin, it is clear that you have been through the Portal."

"I have," said Raistlin. "And it is as I told you. Chaos has returned, and intends on destroying all the Gods after he destroys their 'plaything', their creation. Krynn, and other worlds, are all in mortal danger unless we band together to fight the coming darkness."

There was a collective intake of shocked breath and Ariakan's expression darkened. Just as he was about to speak the alarms of an attack went off. A messenger came running in, "Lord Ariakan, we are under attack!"

"By the Solamnics?" asked the Nightlord.

"No, by creatures of shadow and flame," stated the wide eyed messenger. "Our weapons have no effect on them."

Raistlin murmured, "It begins already..."

Tika grimly set her lips, "I would suggest that it is time to listen to my brother in law, Lord Ariakan, since it appears that the minions of Chaos are at your very doorstep!"

"Return the archmagus' equipment to him," ordered Ariakan. "Accept my apologies, Raistlin. It appears that we should have believed you."

"Accepted," stated Raistlin, his voice raspy from abuse.

The Knights of the Lily, including Steel, all left as a Knight of the Thorn quickly guided them to where they had taken Raistlin's gear. Tanin and Sturm helped Raistlin into his robes and the armor he favored over his black robes. Tika unwrapped the Staff of the Magius and handed it to him. As Raistlin took the staff it lit up as if in greeting and he leaned on the staff as he pushed himself into a standing position as he breathed through a pouch off his belt.

With a small nod, after he had recovered more, they walked up to the wall where they saw the shadow creatures. The Blue Star flared and the creatures recoiled, but then kept coming although slightly slower. He called out, "Their defenses against your weapons are now gone. Do not let one survive!"

Tika drew her sword as did Tanin and Sturm. A cloud of darkness descended on one outer wall where a Solamnic Knight, also armored and ready for battle stood with ten Knights of the Lily. The could dispersed and all that was left was their armor and equipment, except all that was left of was scrap metal unless it was enchanted. The brutes ran into battle and they watched as for every one shadow warrior that fell, two brutes fell with them.

Although they were dealing damage the shadow creatures kept coming to the point that the outer wall was overrun, then the inner wall. Finally, Steel Brightblade, as the others looked up to him as the pinnacle of honor within the ranks, called, "Fall back to Palanthas!"

Raistlin grabbed a fallen bastard sword and defended himself both with magic and the sword, the Blue Star flaring whenever one of the creatures got to close. Finally, once out of the High Clerist Tower he turned and cast a spell that sealed the doors so that it bought them time to retreat. Screams of defiance could be heard as the creatures tried to force the door.

Tika, as she rode by, reached out a hand and pulled Raistlin up behind her on the war horse as the company retreated at full speed back to Palanthas. Blue Dragons flew overhead, their riders carrying the warning of the coming battle to the other Knights in Palanthas.

It took a day of hard riding to reach Palanthas, and on the walls he could plainly see the war machines that were manned by both Solamnic Knights and by Knights of Takhisis. He smiled grimly, "It's about time they listened to reason!"

Tika said back, "In all of your experience, you know that they will only listen when tangible proof is given. Now that they have it, it is almost too late. It was the same in the War of the Lance, if you remember."

He grimaced, "Oh yes, I remember."

They rode through the gate and Raistlin's small company was escorted to the central plaza where there was a senior meeting of both types of Knights. On one side was the leaders of the Knights of Takhisis, and on the other was the leaders of the Knights of Solamnia. Raistlin slid off the horse and they walked into the meeting room.

Tika waited with her two sons outside until Raistlin came back out tiredly, "This is their plan, and I have to admit it is a good one. We are taking the battle to Chaos where Reorx tells us that if we manage to nick Chaos and capture a bit of his blood and trap it in the Greygem, he will leave."

"If he is so powerful, how are we to do that?" asked Tanin.

"Leave that to me," said Raistlin. "As the Miiro, it rest on me to Balance the situation. He is... in a sense... my brother. It will take a long time to explain now that I myself understand, so on our way there, I shall explain."

He turned to North where dragons could be seen flying towards them all, and a small voice spoke up, "Gee, Raistlin, you sure know how to make an entrance..."

Tika, Tanin, and Sturm turned to face the speaker, as did Raistlin. They then looked down at the older kender leaning on the rock. "Tasslehoff!" cried Sturm gladly.

"All the Gods of Krynn," Raistlin ran a hand down his face. "I was hoping this time to escape your notice..."

"That's not a very nice thing to say after not seeing each other for so long!" Tasslehoff Burrfoot opened arms and ran forward to hug Raistlin, but was stopped by Raistlin's hand on his forehead. "Hey, you're normal! Not that you weren't before, but you don't have your hourglass eyes anymore. How did you break your curse?"

Raistlin lifted a brow, "Sometimes I have to wonder as things change how little actually changes."


	18. The Isle of the Irda

**A/N**: Updates are coming quick because later in this month we won't have any time for any writing. The planning was done a very long time ago so it is only recounting what we wanted to have happen.

Why is it going to be a busy month?

Well, Miiro (whose real name is Kristan) and Lord Terrence (whose real name is Andrew) are getting married at the end of this month on July 30th. If our updates become erratic or non-existent at some points, then insanely often, you know what's going on....

* * *

Chapter Fifteen   
The Isle of the Irda

* * *

Raistlin leaned on the windowsill. The next day he would ride dragonback on the same green dragon that had flown him from Neraka to Palanthas so many years ago. When asked, he had simply said, "Call me a sentimental fool, but I've always wanted to do something heroic for a change...."

This, of course, had elicited a few chortles from the other dragons that had landed in the town plaza of Palanthas.

The surprise of the inhabitants, and of his own family had known no bounds when dragons of every color had flown together for the first time in history; gold with red, blue with silver, green with bronze, black with brass, and copper with white. On the silvers and blues rode Knights. It was a sight to see and Raistlin and Tika had watched from the ground. Tika had turned to her brother in law and said, "This will never happen again, will it?"

"I don't think so," his had face seemed to sadden for a moment. "And hopefully it will be enough."

But that had been hours ago and now he leaned, looking out into the city from a suite lent to him by the Lord Mayor, and he knew he would never see it again. It felt odd to know that where he went, unlike the others who hoped to return, he knew that he would not. Sensing a familiar presence behind him, he turned to see Crysania. With her sight restored she had also seen the dragons fly in formation over Palanthas. Unlike Tika, she had understood why Raistlin had been saddened to see everything come together.

Unlike the rest of his family, she knew what was coming next. "You said you would stay..." she said in a quiet whisper, tears staining her voice.

He walked over to her and held her in his arms. "I know," he whispered into her hair.

She clung to him and he to her as they stood there for a long time. As the sun set one last time, Raistlin bent his head to catch her lips in a searing kiss on both of their senses. Finally, with a small cry from her, he pushed her back and into the bed as their passion finally, after so many years, caught up with them. Crysania's hands were quick as she undid the fastenings to his armor and it fell to the floor as Raistlin pulled off the robe from over his head.

Her clothing met with little resistance from his deft hands as he made short work of the ties of her bodice.

Finally they seen each other as man and wife could only see, and Raistlin kissed away her tears, then slowly moved lower, listening to her moans to see where she liked most.

It was there, as the sun finally dipped below the horizon, the two became one.

* * *

Tanin stared over the sea as they flew. His Uncle seemed to have retreated deeper and deeper into his thoughts as they grew closer to the rending that had been the Isle of the Irda, but was now a rip in space that led to the Abyss. He looked over to his elder cousin, Steel from where he was on Blayze. The silver that Tanin rode with his mother to what remained of the island rumbled and said, "Your Uncle thinks about what he must do. I wonder, what will you ever do?"

Tika asked, "I know we have to go after the Greygem first... Raistlin tells me that the Greygem still is on the center of the burnt island where it had been cracked open."

"It is," answered the silver dragon. "Raistlin will accompany you, Tika, to the Greygem where you must use old skills to regain it. The way will not be easy..."

Tika looked over to Raistlin and the silver edged closer to the huge green that Raistlin rode by himself. "Raistlin!"

He looked up from his thoughts, and Tika asked, "We are almost there."

A barely perceptible nod was her answer, and she couldn't help but reminded how he had been right before betraying them all. But the expression on his face was by far not the same. It was as if his eyes roved over everything to memorize every last detail like he would never see it again. In a way this made her nervous, but then she remembered something that had been niggling at the back of her head.

Unfortunately they would have to wait until they landed for her to ask.

The isle came within sight.

* * *

Caramon walked out into the sunlight and immediately noticed the lack of Knights of Takhisis. The deputy mayor ran up to him, "My Lord, my lord!"

Caramon fought off the urge to run. He never should have accepted that damn position as mayor. If the Knights had left Solace, there would be no getting out of it and it wasn't how he wanted to spend his retirement. But he stopped and let the other man catch up, "What is it?"

"The Dark Knights! They're gone!" he said in awe. "Something about 'being recalled to the North'!"

Caramon frowned in thought as Tanis rode into Solace. Running down the steps to greet his old friend, and help him from his horse, he asked, "Aren't you in Solanthus?"

"No," answered Tanis Half-Elven sourly. "Laurana went to Qualinost to be with Gil, and unfortunately my own son can't even sway the senators to allow non-elves into the forest with the situation up North."

"Speaking of which, all the Knights of Takhisis were recalled North," pointed out Caramon. "Raistlin said that something is going on in Palanthas...."

The Deputy Mayor went pale at the mention of Caramon's brother, but remained silent as the two Heroes of the Lance continued to talk. "Is it about him again, or actually something else?" asked Tanis.

"Well, considering he surrendered himself and they are going to execute him, I seriously doubt it. It must be something else–"

Tanis cut off his friend, "Execute him?! When?"

Caramon counted off the days. "Three days ago at high noon," he answered darkly shaking his head. "There was nothing I could do. When I found out there was no way I could have made it to the High Clerist's Tower in time. But, thankfully, Mistress Jenna teleported Tika, Tanin and Sturm directly to Palanthas... What's so funny?"

Tanis reined in his chuckles, "And you didn't go?"

"Tika wouldn't let me, said the Dark Knights would take the Mayor leaving as sedition," answered Caramon. "Oh, I became the Mayor about a week ago."

Tanis' raised his eyebrows in surprise, then began to snicker, "You? The Mayor? Oh, I don't know who to pity more, you or the rest of Solace."

"Say what you want, old friend," stated Caramon as they turned to walk back up the stairs after one of Caramon's stableboys took the horse from Tanis to put his horse in the Inn's stables. "My adventuring days were over the first time Tika missed her monthlies. And it isn't so bad. Granted, I can't seem to go anywhere or do anything without him running after me screaming 'My lord, my lord'."

The deputy mayor blushed deeply at Caramon's offhand remark, "But my Lord, we need you."

Caramon mouthed, _See what I mean?_

Tanis only laughed.

* * *

One silver dragon and one green dragon landed on the beach. Most of the sand that had been white had been scorched and burnt black, and in some spots even melted to black glass. The trees that had once been tall and thick enough to cut off the light from the swamp like ground were mere sticks stretching hundreds of feet into the air. The ground had dried to a dust that blew around in clouds and stung the eyes and choked the lungs.

"The rending is ten miles in the sea that way," pointed Raistlin to the East. "The Greygem is that way."

He pointed straight North. Tika drew her sword as did Tanin. Raistlin called on his armor and his appearance changed to that of the avatar. Tika pursed her lips, "I was wondering about that, you know."

"I never knew what it was..." shrugged Raistlin. "It is the Mark of the Miiro, and the armor of the Blue Star. It only first appears if our lives are in mortal danger to protect us, then stays until we know how to turn it off, or we are cursed with it for life should we fail in our duty."

Tika's eyes lifted as did Tanin's. "So, you what, were cursed or didn't know?"

"I fell," answered Raistlin. "And so was cursed with the armor of the gold skin until I redeemed myself. Only then would I be able to control it once more. Long story short, I did when I tried to save Palin and called on the Blue Star to subdue the Dark Queen, and then leave without hurting her. I remember now..."

Raistlin opened his eyes wide, "I remember now...."

_Her eyes flashed and dry thunder boomed across the entirety of the Abyss. "I have learned that to rule I have to remove any stumbling blocks. You are one of them..."_

_With one push, Raistlin flew across the room to land in a heap of robes. As he struggled to stand, he saw the Dark Queen walk to the alter where Palin was bound. "Don't you touch him!" he shouted. "I'm the one you want! I'm the threat, not he!"_

_"Oh, but he has the potential and your blood in his veins, Miiro," she said as she brought up her sword over Palin's heart. To Palin she said. "Look around well, for it is the last you will ever see."_

_"Uncle!" he shouted moments before the sword ran him through._

_One convulsive jerk up, then the hazel eyes blanked as he died. Raistlin screamed in denial as something within him surged and the Blue Star responded. Before Palin's soul could be claimed by Takhisis, a force far more powerful swept her aside. Raistlin was dimly aware of a swelling sensation not unlike the first orgasm he had ever felt, then nothing._

"At that point, I remembered nothing except waking up, but I called on the Blue Star," said Raistlin. "And it responded. The swelling was me actually bonding the consciousness with the power of the Miiro. At that point, this mortal frame could not handle it and passed out. In reflex the essence took me to the last place I remember being in the current time on the prime material plane."

Tika murmured, "Your lab."

"Exactly," pointed out Raistlin. "I'm sorry that I failed Palin..."

She shook her head, "You didn't fail him. If you had never tried to save him, then you would have failed him. But, you went beyond what anyone expected of you."

_He was knocked a good couple of feet by the force of the contact to land in a heap. Raistlin coughed and tried to bring up his left arm for a quick spell. The pain that arced up fizzled that spell, and told him that his arm was broken, useless. Perhaps a few of his ribs too. All he could was lay on the ground and moan in pain._

_The half ogre towered over him. "Not so tough, are you Wizard?" the half ogre leaned down, and grasped the arm that was broken, pulled Raistlin to a standing position._

_Raistlin, against whatever control he might have had, screamed with the agony that caused. The half ogre pulled back one fist as he held Raistlin up. "That was for me brother, who you took out with magic purple darts. This is for Broken Tusk clan," the huge fist slammed into Raistlin's mid-section and it felt like his fist went through._

_Pain ripped through the entirety of Raistlin who felt like his insides had been ripped out. This pain robbed him of breath to even scream, but he did anyway. He screamed without sound, mouth open and air only whistling. He was suddenly dropped to the ground as the half ogre made a grunting sound before turning in rage to the new person._

_A woman born of the Plains of Dust, of the desert, dropped her short bow in favor of the scimitar she truly favored. She was regal, and her skin was the shade of tan that reminded one of deserts and sand. Her black hair was braided into many thin dread-lock braids and fell down to her mid back. She even more the flowing desert garb._

Raistlin paced, "This was another situation where I called on my own connection with the Fragments without actually thinking about it. This time I called another Fragment, one I knew by name, to come to my aid." He snapped his fingers, "And the Blue Star summoned her like that."

"Now that you remember," Tanin began. "What does that mean exactly?"

Tika chose that moment to remember her question, "Raistlin, you have been more quiet than usual, not to mention a whole lot more sad. It's as if you go to your own execution."

Turning to them, "It's because I am."

They simply stared at him and Tanin quietly asked, "This is the sacrifice that must be made... the one that they were all saying would balance it all. It's you, isn't it?"

Raistlin nodded, "To stop Chaos I must call on all the Fragments of the Miiro and then call on the Blue Star to release the full power of the God of the Greater Balance. However, when I do that, my mortal body will die as no mortal can ever be a God. I realized that in the Abyss when I challenged the Dark Queen. Once I die, to continue the channeling, my very essence and soul will be absorbed into the Blue Star, one less Fragment to find in returning the Miiro to his rightful place in the Heavens. One piece of the puzzle in its place..."

Tanin leaned in shock against the side of the silver dragon as Tika's eyes widened in shock, and she whispered through her hand that had been brought up to her mouth, "Is there no other way?"

Raistlin shook his head, "Not unless another Fragment chooses to take up the mantle, and knowing what I know, I have to right to shirk my duty and pass it on to another once the Sacrifice is chosen."

For a long moment they were silent and then the green dragon said, "Perhaps, if all life depends on this, you should get the Greygem?"

* * *

Lunitari stared into the skies from the Dome of Creation, and smiled as, falteringly at first, then stronger, a simple single star of blue began to burn in the sky...

* * *

The company of dragons and knights circled over the rent as Steel called them all to a halt with one short gesture. An elder Knight of the Rose called from the gigantic gold dragon he rode, "Sir Brightblade, perhaps we should wait for the Archmage?"

Steel frowned in thought, "We will wait another hour, and if he doesn't show, we will have to join the battle."

The dragons continued to circle...


	19. The Chaos War

* * *

Chapter Sixteen   
The Chaos War

* * *

Raistlin, Tika, and Tanin knelt just outside a ring of evergreens that had somehow survived the destruction wreaked by Chaos upon awakening. In the midst of the tree ring, on a raised dias, sat the two halves of the Greygem. Raistlin turned to Tika, "We will keep the guardians occupied while you grab the Greygem and head straight back to the dragons. Take the silver and head to the rent. Remember, all we need is one drop of Chao's blood. As soon as you have that in the Greygem, close it and he will again be sealed away. Maybe, just maybe, we may not need my sacrifice if you succeed. Lunitari grant you speed."

Tika moved off to the side and he nodded to Tanin. Raistlin stood first and began to walk to the ring of trees. The shadows that darted in between was instantly upon him, then Tanin also darted out, and a few of the shadows went after him. Raistlin and Tanin moved away, but kept their attention on them.

Waiting for just the right moment, Tika stepped out and ran directly to the dias.

Raistlin spotted the shadow turn back and head toward Tika...

He swore and turned the stone of the Blue Star out so that it was seen. The shadows yowled, and one, the strongest, "Turn back, Guardian, lest we destroy you."

"You know I cannot," stated Raistlin.

That shadow headed to Raistlin, who had to call on every ounce of self control not to look into the depths of their eyes, "Do you really think you can make a difference? Do you really think that you would be missed if you simply ceased to exist on this day?"

"I know I would be," Raistlin gritted his teeth, then saw Tika running full out, both halves of the Greygem in her hands, to the silver dragon. "And this day, we are the victors."

Holding his hand up, palm out, he called out, "_Wes Il Norta!_"

The Blue Star came alive in his hand and the light washed down on the shadows. The weaker ones were instantly banished back to where they had come from. The stronger were merely blinded, "Curse you, Miiro!"

He turned back to Tanin, "Go! Our job is done here!"

Tanin sheathed his sword and began to run back to the dragons. Raistlin ran as fast as he could, and then he felt the ground tremble. For a moment, he lost his footing, and turned back to look. Where the Greygem had rested the ground was rending apart and a massive dragon made entirely of fire and living magma was emerging. "Shit!" he swore, then saw that Tanin had drawn his sword. "No! Run! I can handle this!"

Tanin, for a moment appeared that he would not do as asked, and Raistlin said, "When have I ever led you wrong on this? Go on. Aid your mother. Please, just run!"

With a Solamnic salute of his sword, Tanin turned and began to run to the dragons. Tika had waited for her son, and he climbed on the silver dragon and they flew off towards the Great Rent. Raistlin turned to face the Chaos Dragon. He pulled out the Staff of Magius and fell into a defensive posture stone out. "Lunitari protect us...." he breathed as the dragon fully pulled itself from the ground.

It was huge, bigger than three of his green head to tail tip, and the wing span was enough to blot out the glaring sun that refused to set. It spread its wings and roared, the threes blown down by the force of the roar, finally bursting into flame. It crouched down and glared at Raistlin in malevolent rage and hatred. Raistlin said clearly, "I won't let you pass."

The dragon roared again, and Raistlin closed his eyes as the familiar swelling sensation began. This time he would remember every detail in painful clarity, as his form changed. The six wings that glowed with an inner blue light and made the feathers shimmer as if lit with blue fire, while Raistlin himself changed into a luminous being dressed in gold and the luminous sapphire that was his symbol. A crown of sapphire rested on his head and he wore a simple blue kilt with a tabard of gold and starmetal fringing that, even though he hovered just about three feet above the ground, was still long enough to brush the ground.

He could hear an awe filled murmur of, "Beautiful..." from behind him as the green dragon caught sight of the god form.

The Chaos Dragon even paused for a second as it recognized the God before it, then it snarled and attacked him. Raistlin's wings lifted him safely out of the way quickly enough that there was more than enough distance between the dragon and he. He settled just behind the dragon, and speaking with a voice far more presence filled than his normal form, "That was a foolish thing to do, spawn of Chaos."

Raistlin lifted one hand over his head as the dragon turned on him again and lunged. This time he didn't move as he brought his hand down and the light engulfed the Chaos Dragon. For a moment, the green held his breath as the light became so bright that he couldn't see either of them. When the light dissipated, Raistlin knelt on the ground, in his black robes, auburn hair in his eyes, leaning heavily on the Staff of Magius.

The green dragon flew over to him and protectively covered him with one wing as he coughed so hard, blood staining his lips. The coughing fit was easily the worst he had ever had in his life, and Raistlin struggled to draw in breath as stars flickered in his vision. He struggled to pull out the pouch that by inhaling the herbs within would quickly help him gain control. His shaking hands made him drop it three times before he succeeded in getting it to his nose and mouth. Just as the blackness caused by lack of air was about to overwhelm him, he felt his chest loosen and the coughing subside. He sucked in one breath, then another and leaned back against the shoulder of the green dragon. "Better?" asked the green in concern.

"Yeah, I think so," rasped Raistlin.

"Did you kill it?"

"Yes."

"When you said you were a God, I didn't quite believe you," said the green. "But after seeing that..."

"I take it you do now?"

"Oh yes," the green whispered. "I believe now..."

Neither of them noticed, as the sun had not set, that the blue star in the sky was more firm and set in the sky...

* * *

The silver flew as fast as his wings would carry him. Tika and Tanin held on, hiding behind the wind shielding of the dragonsaddle. Finally Tika looked out to see where the other dragons circled. Steel flew up beside them as the silver, named Mirror, slowed down and joined the lazy circling above the rent. "Where's Raistlin?" called Steel.

Tika pointed to where a sudden bright flash of blue was seen, "Back there!"

Steel compressed his lips into a thin line, then a slight hopeful smile lit his face when Tika brought out the Greygem. A cheer was heard from the other knights. The lead Knight on the gold dragon said, "Will he catch up?"

Tika shook her head, "I don't know."

The Knight of the Rose and Steel looked at each other in concern, then a young Knight of the Crown pointed, "Look! There he is!"

Tika and Tanin turned in the saddle, and Mirror said, "Oh thank Paladine..."

The green dragon that carried a very pale looking Raistlin joined the circling dragons. "What happened back there?" asked Steel.

"A very, very close call," answered Raistlin. "But it is about to get much, much worse."

The dragons then began to drop into the Abyss one by one until the last was the two dragons carrying Raistlin, Tika, and Tanin. Raistlin turned to Tanin, "Whatever happens there, remember who you are, where you came from, and remember that you have the love and the support of your family behind you. That if you never came back, there would be people who miss you. Lunitari watch over you! Now go!"

The silver dragon descended into the Abyss.

Cyan Bloodbane, the green dragon rumbled deep in his throat, "You know they could defeat him without you. The chances are slim, but they could do it..."

Raistlin shook his head and touched the green hide beneath him. "No. I owe them this, and if they defeat him that way what will be is very different than what it should be. The Gods would have to leave and Krynn would end up almost in destruction anyway. No, I must fix this, I am the only who can."

* * *

Dalamar walked to the Death Walk and stepped outside to look across the city of Palanthas, then out past the gates. He then looked down at his feet, his eyes closing for a moment in sorrow for everyone that stood on the wall to defend the city against the hordes of shadow wights that were marching towards the city, if you could call it marching.

There was a few wizards of all orders on the walls, as well as anyone could wield a weapon.

He didn't think it would matter.

Turning from the sight, not wanting to see the carnage that would result as the battle joined he walked into the Tower to step into his _Shalafi_'s lab. He had heard about the plan, being there for the session as his _Shalafi_ told the Knights of both orders what they truly fought. The plan formed had been sketchy at best.

When he had held his _Shalafi_'s arm and asked, "What kind of plan is that?"

"Distraction at best," Raistlin had answered with a sigh. "It could work, but it is a very long shot at best."

"And at worst?"

"It won't work at all."

That had been the last time he had seen Raistlin before seeing him mount Cyan and take off into the sky with one last wave to Crysania, who was crying freely as she stood and watched him fly away.

Crysania was on the wall, standing with Tandar and the rest of Palanthas in the last gambit of hope that may or may not even work while an even shakier plan went into action in the Abyss. While Dalamar felt he had made the best decision to at least enjoy what little of life he likely had left, he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps he was making the wrong decision. He looked out the window again as Jenna walked onto the wall and began to cast her magic.

A part of Dalamar felt as if his heart had been ripped out and handed to him.

Suddenly, he wasn't so sure anymore. With a determined set to his lips, he left the Tower, taking some of the more powerful magical artifacts he could lay his hands on, and ran to the wall just as the ground shook as if in rage.

Dalamar lost his footing, and he rolled over to see the massive head emerge out of the ground. "By our Dark Queen!" he swore as the Chaos Dragon broke through the ground.

He was aware of running as Knights of Solamnia and Takhisis joined him, swords drawn, just as the battle broke out on the wall.

* * *

Caramon and Tanis ran through the bridge walks, swords and bow out. Tanis picked off the climbing wights as Caramon engaged any in a fury that surprised the residents of Solace. A circle of defenders was around the last intact building, the Inn of the Last Home. It seemed that the defenders were outnumbered two to one, but Tanis turned with a smile to Caramon, "We've faced worse..."

"And barely survived," stated Caramon as his sword sliced off a wight's arm, sending it howling down to the ground below to land with a sickening thud as it stopped moving and faded into dust. A hopeful tone entered his voice. "They're getting easier to kill. I hope that's a good sign."

"It had better be," Tanis said as he fired two arrows, at once, into two different throats, killing two more wights.

"Nice shot."

"Thank you."

* * *

Tasslehoff landed in the dust of the Abyss beside a Knight of the Sword. Turning to the Knight, he said, "Paladine be with you!"

The dragon bearing the Knight took off, leaving Tas where he was. Tas ran to wear he saw Tika and, tugging on her sleeve, "Is this it?"

"Tas!" she cried. "How did you get here?"

"Well, I didn't want to be left out, so I leapt on a copper dragon as it flew by the wall..." answered Tas. "Was that a good thing to do?"

Tika didn't answer as she swung her sword as a wight attacked them. Tas' hoopak sang as he used the slingshot to strike a stone between the wight's eyes as Tika ran it through. Finally, all of the Abyss seemed to fall into a hush as the green dragon, Cyan Bloodbane, carrying Raistlin entered the Abyss. Landing on the opposite side of Chaos, Cyan allowed Raistlin to climb off and land softly on the ground.

For a moment, all was silent as Chaos and Raistlin simply stared at each other.

"SO, YOU COME BACK," boomed Chaos.

"Return to your sleep, brother," shouted Raistlin, the loudest Tika had ever heard anyway considering she could hear him from where she stood. "Return, and allow the Greater Balance to return to its even keel."

Chaos laughed, "OR WHAT? YOU'LL STOP ME IN THAT PUNY MORTAL BODY? OR PERHAPS THESE SILLY MORTALS WILL AID YOU? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH, MIIRO."

Raistlin smiled grimly, "Very well, we'll have to do this the hard way..."

Spreading his arms in a manner that eerily reminded Tika of how they had found him in the High Clerist Tower, she watched as he began to levitate a few inches from the ground. Then the change happened.

First, his skin turned its familiar gold color, his hair white, and his eyes gold. Then, the wings formed seemingly out of thin air as they slowly came into ghostlike existence. His black robes disappeared to be replaced with a robe of shimmering white and a tabard of glimmering sapphire blue. The wings came into sharper definition as the pinions and very tips of each feather seemed to be a gossamer blue and the feathers a stainless white. The six huge feathered wings spread open and slowly moved to take him higher into the air until he was at least six feet off the ground. The tabard, with a single eight pointed blue star its standard, was longer than his legs, obviously meant to be worn while in the air, moved gracefully with each wing beat. While he was still recognizable as Raistlin, his gold skin was less tarnished, the silver hair more luminous.

Then he opened his eyes and the change was evident and the gold depths fairly burned as the nearly full power of Miiro moved through him.

As if on a pre-arranged signal, the Knights then attacked the distracted Chaos.

Chaos called his dragons and they emerged from the very soil, wights falling from their back as the battle fully joined. Tika and Tas stood back to back as they defended themselves.

Raistlin knew that his time was short. He had never been able to hold this form for very long before tiring and collapsing. He was a little surprised but recognized the signs as the Blue Star on his finger seemed to melt into his hand.

Opening his eyes wide he saw many worlds in battle, and many Fragments called to it. Suddenly, in all the worlds of creation, and he watched as they did, these Fragments held a hand to their hearts as their respective fragment was called. Raistlin could feel each one as he began the final channeling.

His skin began to emit the shimmering rays as each soul lent to him, each soul that he absorbed into himself, added to the power of the form he had taken. He was not aware of a battle anymore in the Abyss. He was everywhere and nowhere.

In one last rally, spurred on by the sudden appearance of another God in the Abyss, the Knights recouped and Steel led the charge as they lowered their lances. Chaos, blinded by the sudden brightness, as well as feeling himself weaken slightly as the tipped scale began to re-balance, flailed his arms about blindly hoping to take out anyone who ventured too close.

Finally he opened his palm and, calling on all the power within him and calling on all the power of the others, "CHAOS, THE BALANCE CALLS!"

Steel and Blayze flew directly under Chaos's left arm and Steel barely missed having himself knocked from the blue dragon as the arm flailed a bit to close. But Blayze quickly ducked and recovered to bring Steel up to the right height for his strike.

Chaos turned as at the last second Steel Brightblade's dragonlance cut deeply into His arm, and the drops of blood fell.

Tika stood at the bottom and holding the Greygem up she positioned herself under the blood as it fell. When it washed the inside and outside of the gem, burning her as if with acid, she closed the gem.

A scream of rage and terror was heard, then silence. The fire giant was gone and Chaos was imprisoned.

* * *

The scream was heard throughout all of Krynn and beyond. In Palanthas, the defenders suddenly realized that their weapons and magic were effective against the invaders, and began to fight back with renewed fervor.

Jenna and Crysania watched in relief, their spells both respectively spent, as the wights and dragons were pushed back, then finally routed. A resounding cheer went up and Jenna said quietly, "They did it!"

Crysania smiled, but tears ran down her face, "Yes... yes, he did..."

* * *

In Solace, the wights fell by the dozens as the residents fought in a near frenzy led by Caramon Majere and Tanis Half-Elven. As Caramon slew the last one, Tanis began to see to the wounded. "It's over?" asked Tanis.

Caramon felt a part within, a part he always associated with Raistlin, fade and he smiled sadly, "It's over."

* * *

And, where it could be seen, the sun set.

The Gods who had stood in the Dome of Creation heard the shout of denial from Chaos as it shook the dome to the foundations. Lunitari lowered her eyes in sorrow, as did a few of the other Gods. Paladine, in the form of Fizban looked at the floor and shook his head. "And so it comes to pass..."

* * *

Tika ran to Raistlin as the wings faded and he slowly changed back to his normal self, his pale blue eyes staring sightlessly as he slowing floated down, arms spread wide, to rest on the sand that comprised the Abyss. "Raistlin!" Tika called, taking his hand.

His pale blue grey eyes moved slowly to look into her sparkling green ones, now on the verge of tears, the life in his quickly dimming. "Tika... take the... will to Caramon..."

"I swear I'll give it to him..." she promised, holding his hand to his chest.

"My staff..."

Tas laid the Staff of the Magius in Raistlin's hands and Raistlin curled his hands around it, then took one last faltering breath, exhaled, and failed to draw another as the light of life in his eyes faded and was gone forever. Tanin, who had been riding Mirror, ran over, "Oh no... Uncle..." he cried as he knelt down.

Standing beside Blayze, Steel leaned on his shoulder just under the dragon's wings and bowed his head in sorrow as Raistlin Majere died a hero.

The other dragons, those who had survived, and the knights on them landed softly on the ground. Cyan flew from where he had been and landed beside Raistlin. Sniffing him once as if to confirm what the others suspected as Tanin moved out of the way, he lifted his head and began to keen the loss of his rider.

The other dragons raised to their haunches and joined him as the Abyss was filled with the terrible and heart wrenching sound of the keening dragons. Finally, gently, Cyan took Raistlin by one massive claw and lifted himself into the sky, ascending out of the Abyss and into Krynn. Tika mounted Mirror behind her son and watched as, shaken, the other knights all mounted their dragons.

When they ascended out of the Abyss, the rent sealed as the sea water, hissing as the heat of the place boiled it, rushed in. Finally, the only thing to say that the rent had been there was a patch of red. "Another sea of blood," murmured Tika, with tears in her eyes.

The other dragons also carried any fallen riders while some dragons lifted and carried those of their own brethren that had been killed, or too wounded to fly. Slowly they made their way back to Palanthas, taking many breaks as they did so. When Palanthas was in sight, and the Tower of High Sorcery, Cyan began keening again as the other dragons took up the same sound.

* * *

Dalamar turned at the sound of the hundreds of keening dragons, as did the rest of Palanthas. There was no mistaking a mourning dragon as the sound of the keens seemed pulled from the depths of the massive creatures. It was a haunting sound that told those who heard it that someone had passed, and their passing had been noted.

Finally the dragons landed, and Dalamar saw that Cyan Bloodbane, well known by Dalamar as the dragon that Raistlin always rode, laid a black robe gently in the square. Considering the form didn't move and Cyan lifted his head and continued to keen told Dalamar what he needed to know. Something, even in Dalamar's ambitious heart, broke at the sight and he knew he wasn't the only one that day with tears in his eyes. He knew what that meant as did everyone else, especially when Crysania walked to the black robed formed and began to cry over the body.

Raistlin Majere was dead.

* * *

Many others had died that day. When the final tally was taken, the battle in the Abyss took one hundred men and women, Knights of Solamnia as well as Knights of Takhisis. On the wall of Palanthas, the damage was no less severe as the count there had been nearly five hundred.

But the first battle took the most as when the bodies were tallied, and then buried, it amounted to well over ten thousand dead of both orders.

Never before had so many perished in one war, nor would it happen again.

Astinus dipped the quill into the inkwell as the page was taken by acolytes. Bertrem walked in and said, "What happens now?"

Astinus shrugged, "I would imagine that is up to the Gods. But his sacrifice changed history, let that not be mistaken. He has a habit of doing that..."

Bertrem looked down at the floor, "I am going to the Temple of Paladine where his body lays in state. I... I think they are building a tomb in Solace and after it is complete he will be laid to rest there."

"He will be," stated Astinus, then after Bertrem left he murmured. "Good bye, old friend."

* * *

Crysania sat on a bench in the room where he lay. A part of her felt she could not leave. She walked over and said, "In the end I was right about you, you know. You could change... and you did. Oh, but sometimes now that I look back I wish I could walk back in time and see you once more."

"He wouldn't want that," came a quiet voice.

Crysania turned to see a woman she didn't know. The woman wore heavy armor and strapped to her back was a two bladed sword. A crossbow hung off her pack, and a scimitar hung at her hip. Her hair was in braids, tiny braids that hung down her back like thin black snakes. Her skin was the dark olive of the desert dwelling people, but not so dark as Dunbar's. She walked over and paid her respects to Raistlin, "Ah, my successor. You did well."

Crysania's eyes widened, "Successor? You are a Miiro?"

The woman nodded, "I am. Does that surprise you, Crysania of Tarinieas?"

Shaking her head, "I thought they all died with him..."

"...No," the woman shook her head. "He served as the focus, and his mortal body died. There are still many others, including his own Successor. He was given the Choice, and he lived up to his duty. Were we as strong as he..."

The two women stood there in silence and the sun set on another day.


	20. EPILOGUE: Of Endings and Possible Beginn...

* * *

Epilogue

Of Endings and Possible Beginnings

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The procession in Solace was slow as the cart was followed by most of the residents. Caramon walked beside it as did the rest of the Heroes of the Lance and now the new Heroes of the Summer of Chaos. Crysania, her head bowed in sorrow, walked in front of it. Caramon could only guess what was going through her mind at the moment. He knew his was numb.

Finally, the trees thinned as they reached a clearing and on each side stood Knights. On one side stood Knights of Takhisis and on the opposite side stood Knights of Solamnia. Steel brought the Brightblade up in a salute of honor and the Knights did the same.

They had come to salute those fallen, and one last one remained to be laid to rest.

Caramon's twin.

Raistlin.

A few months after the battle the Tomb of Heroes had been quarried and built. Dwarves had overseen the overall construction, but those of Solace and of both Knighthood had done most of the labor which was why it had been built in such short order, but with no less amount of quality.

The cart bearing Raistlin's body came to a stop outside the tomb and one of the Knights began to sing the dirge. Considering that the song sang was one sang over every Solamnic Knight upon their death, Caramon was rather surprised that the honor was being bestowed on a wizard, and a black robe no less. As the Companions lifted the litter, Caramon found the tears finally on his face and he absently tried to wipe them away. Tanis rubbed his shoulder in a measure of consolation, but as even Tasslehoff was crying, it was hard not to be saddened by the whole proceeding.

As they bore the litter carrying Raistlin into the tomb, they heard the hymn of Huma draw to a close and another, this one sung by the Dark Knights began. Crysania followed them, her hand on Raistlin's cold one the entire time until he was finally lain to rest on the dias carved with a single eight pointed star with each point bearing a perfectly cut sapphire.

Crysania began to pray, also speaking his eulogy, "Raistlin Majere may be remembered for many things, but let these last two years be what he is remembered for the most. This is what he wanted to leave behind as his legacy, as what we draw to mind when we think of him. _Mora de na Paladine, de fil sol be Paladine_."

"Paladine receive him," repeated the assembly.

"But, we know that in the end he called on Lunitari," she said. "The Goddess of Magic guard his eternal slumber, _ex domina_."

"Lunitari receive him," repeated the assembly, a few of the voices hardly able to for sobs in between.

Crysania lay a single red rose on his chest and stepped back. Each person lay a blue rose or a red rose on the dias as they left until Raistlin was surrounded by roses. Then each knight entered afterwards and one by one they also left blossoms on the dias or beside it. Finally, after this was done, the Companions were led out by Crysania, who then turned and with her right hand, "May the Gods protect their sleep and receive them to their final rest."

As if by an invisible hand the doors closed and a click could be heard as the tomb was locked.

The assembly relaxed a slight bit as they began to disperse, the ceremony over. Caramon approached Jenna and Dunbar. He handed them the Staff of the Magius, "There are no more wizards in my family, and I think he would have wanted this handed back to the Conclave's care. Only take care as to not let it rot in some storeroom somewhere, it's an item meant to be used."

Dunbar accepted the Staff, "It will be done, Caramon."

He walked over to where a shadow stood by a tree. Stepping out of the sun's glare he looked at Usha, "I didn't see you out there, I wasn't sure if you would come."

"It did not feel right for me to be there," she answered. "I am not related, nor did I partake of this war. It was a day for you to mourn."

Caramon took out a chain from under his black shirt and held it out. On the chain was the Blue Star, "This is yours now. He mentioned you in his will. I hope that in your lifetime you do not have the same choice he had."

Usha took the offered chain and then, taking the ring off the chain, she slid the Blue Star onto her finger as the ring altered to fit her slender finger. "I hope the same, for it will mean that this will repeat. Be well, Caramon Majere."

"And you as well, Usha of Selesia," he said. "Where will you go now?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "There is so much to see, so much to learn. So much to adjust to. I thank you for your tutelage."

With that she turned and disappeared into the forests.

Caramon walked back to the crowds, knowing that it was expected of him. What he really felt like doing was being alone for awhile as he got used to the idea of his brother being truly gone. He swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat and Tika hugged him in sympathy. Caramon looked up and around, tears suddenly threatening to overwhelm him as he sat down heavily.

Looking on from a distance, an old man in mousy robes shook his head in sorrow, himself surprised at the turn of events. No one had expected this sacrifice, not even the Gods themselves. Seeing Raistlin willingly give himself up after being offered a way out of it so many times, but never falling to temptation, had made the old man proud. "I always knew he had it in him," he murmured.

A woman in red robes said behind him, "I did as well."

"He was your favorite, Luni," said Paladine, still in his avatar form of Fizban. "How are you taking his loss?"

"It is not a loss," she said pointing up in the twilight sky.

They saw the blue star, the true blue star, in the sky, "He had believers."

"Yes... and that makes him live on in all of them," she said with a smile. "So long as he is never forgotten, he lives on. He lives in us, and in them."

Fizban smiled, "You know, I think everything is going to be just fine..."

"I couldn't agree more, Uncle."

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Fin!

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_Author's Notes_:

Miiro: Oh, my God, it's actually finished.

Lord Terrence: Well, we thought we would not have it finished until after our wedding, but I guess we were a little quicker than we thought.

Miiro: Well, at least people can enjoy it.

Both: We would like to thank our most loyal fans who reviewed each and every time we updated, and those who also reviewed repeatedly. Also, thank you to all first time reviewers and those who read and enjoyed this. We never thought we could finish it with everything happening in our lives and so really want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement!

_May the Light of the Blue Star light your steps and dragons fly in your dreams!_


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